Book 3: Hola Americano, Turtle?
by horsemens
Summary: Takes place after the events of "Out of the Shadows". Vincent and her team find discover a link that may lead to finding Baxter Stockman who has gone M.I.A. since Krang appeared. The team travels, but what they find is deeper within the family as morals and thoughts are put into question by the aging teenagers.
1. Get a Clue

"How come my opinions are always brushed aside, especially for stuff like this?" It was the blue banded leader who spoke with fire in his throat. The room all around was tense, anticipating the horrors that may come to them (and it being dark wasn't helping anything).

"Do you really want us to answer that question?" Raphael asked rather annoyed. His older brother shot him a quick, cold look.

"Shut up."

"After you." They locked on for a moment; not a single one in the mood for the other.

"I was attacked!" Mona interjected, snapping them both out of their stares. She turned to both of them, turning her head left and right to the terrapin beside and behind her as she explained with her finger pointing into her chest. "Don't you think **I** know who the culprit was?"

"Last time you wanted to investigate we all got knocked out!" Michelangelo, with no chill, shot her down with the recent event that could have ended them. The lizard lady let out some forced air out of her throat from annoyance. They haven't yet let her off the hook with that one.

"I couldn't help it!" She retaliated, leaning over to spell it in his face. Just beside them, Donatello's vision blurred from his fingers pulling his temples and the purple mask that covered them back from his face in circular motions. His glasses moved with his skin as he continued.

"Never in my life did I think I'd be surrounded by so many idiots!" he admitted, quite upset. Them being all compacted together did not help their already present annoyance.

"Hey! Watch it, Brainiac!" Mona hissed. Donnie let go of his temples immediately.

"I'm telling you guys, Leo's 100% wrong this time!" He shouted on the top of his lungs, turning his head to face the mutants behind him. Raphael let out a sarcastic "Hmph!"

"Like he's been right before."

"What are you saying Raph?" Leonardo spoke defensively, trying to dig more information from his larger brother even though he knew it was not going to be pleasant news.

"That, um, ('um' sounded more of a fake swallow) you suck?" His tongue was sharp. With such tensions and high blood pressures rising, Venus jumped between them with her words.

"Boys, boys! Let's be civil here." She asked of them for she could not possibly get between them in the positions they were all in.

"This ain't no time to be civil! Our lives are at stake! We already lost one guy!" Mikey cried hysterically. Venus couldn't deny that with one person dead, there was no wiggle room for sane-ness. The loss set the family off unhealthily and was driving them all mad in a matter of minutes.

"That's why I'm about to end this madness right now!" Leonardo decreed. Every other pair of mutant eyes looked up for the guidance of their leader. "I say…" He pointed his Wii remote to the screen to click on the Pool Boy Mii to make his accusation. An array of options popped up before him. "It was Professor Plum with a revolver on the patio!" He announced enthusiastically as he picked the three objects and then clicked the 'Next' button. The TV screen automatically went to the front of the virtual mansion. Propped in front of it was a sign that told the player that they were wrong and lost the game. Donnie clicked his tongue.

"What'd I tell you." He leaned back into the couch cushions knowingly while readjusting his legs that now were sprawled out on the floor.

"Sucks to be you, bro." Michelangelo spoke underneath the blanket smothering his head and wrapped tightly around his body.

"Whatever." He dropped the remote that was recently wound around his wrist and stood up. The turtle groaned. He was so sure he got that one on lock. Raphael, who was lying across the couch, shook his head in dismay. Mona, sitting in front of him by his stomach, caught sight of his look and tapped him on the forehead. He opened his eyes quickly and gave her an upset shrug at her glare. "Popcorn refills?" Leonardo the loser offered after noticing his bowl was full of unpopped kernels.

"Yes!" A select few mutant's arms shot up with empty or low popcorn bowls for the terrapin to take back into the kitchen. The blue banded turtle took each one and piled them up in his arms as the continued to keep their eyes on the TV screen.

"Shouldn't you all be out and about rather than sitting cooped up in here in the blue light?" The teens jumped, leaning to the left for they did not see their father approaching from the right side of the room. He walked in collectedly, unlike his children. His smooth yet gruff voice took some of the intensity levels down for the family relaxed enough to answer his question.

"It's just one night, Sensei." Raphael assured, shrugging his shoulders. Donatello added.

"A little relaxation."

"Relaxation? You were all screaming at one another a moment ago." He pointed out, twirling his facial hairs in his fingers.

"We can't help it if a murder-mystery game gets up hyped up!" Mona defended.

"This is as close to chillin' as we get!" Mikey spoke in a shrill voice.

"Ah, but did you check with Chief Vincent and see if there was anything needing your assistance?" He raised a knowing brow. Ever since that ceremony for the boys, Vincent took up on their offer whenever she could. Now, it was like they were unofficial official policemen of New York.

"She said they got it under control." Venus spoke with a small amount of popcorn in her cheeks. Granted, she had never heard or met the woman due to them arriving back home at a time when they had already done some mini missions for her (also including an alien invasion), she spoke on behalf of Leonardo who called in before they decided to grant themselves a little downtime.

"We tried to see otherwise, but they're fine." The eldest brother gave him a boy scout's oath. "Honest." Splinter stood still for a moment. It was as if he was inspecting the honesty of his word.

"Very well." He let them be. Leo put his hand down and watched his father move away for an extent. There was no need for him to be around if they were to continue bantering with one another over the stupidest of things. He gets that enough already. Now, more screaming was to be heard. One of the doors that led to their lair opened and shut. They'd be alarmed if they did not feel a happy presence.

"¡Hola mi hermosa familia!" They knew that voice. Heads turned to see the strutting chicana, belting out her foreign words with her arms up in a flaunting fashion. "¡Lo hice justo a tiempo para algunas pistas de Wii!" She gripped the top of the couch when she approached it.

"No hablo Taco Bell." Raphael joked when his turn came up. He lifted the remote, but with his arm stuck behind Mona, it didn't work out. They both awkwardly tried to decide what was easier: she scoot in more so he can keep his arm in the present spot and play or she crams into Leo just for Raph to get his turn in. This wasn't a problem earlier since Leonardo was on the floor at first until migrating up with them. Her body scooted closer to him so he can roll the die.

"Pleazo speako Englisho, bro." Mikey chuckled, grinning ear to ear now that the homie was here. They called her an hour ahead, but it felt like forever for her to get there.

"My bad y'all." She swung around the couch and landed right next to her best friend. When she bumped into his shoulder, he latched onto her gaze quick. They stared for a moment, until Mikey smiled and snatched her with his blanketed arms. The chicana laughed and tried to fight until until they settled to let her put her forearms on his legs as she lay her torso across it.

"Still speaking Spanish first, I see." The purple banded turtle asked when it was about to be his turn to roll the virtual die.

"Mexico is still in me yall, but I've been better at catching myself." She looked up to the screen and observed what was going on. "So, I made it just in time for _Clue_?" The smell and sound of popcorn intrigued her and alarmed her stomach that it was time to growl.

"Gotta wait first until we can figure out the right combo." Venus informed on the edge of her seat when Donatello used a secret passageway from the bedroom. Angel was disinterested with the event when a white figure caught her eye on the empty space of the couch. She tapped Mona and pointed to the remote. The lizard lady gave it to her promptly when Angel asked:

"Whose remote is this?" She observed the remote promptly, deciding whether or not to strap it on her wrist. It was lit up on the bottom, so someone was using it.

"It was Leo's-." Mona began.

"Until he was **wrong**." Raph interrupted. Leonardo came back in, arms filled with yellow and white puffballs that filled each individual bowl.

"Fight me." He challenged as he passed each bowl carefully to the desired mutant. Raphael waved him off and put his eyes back on the game.

"You've lost enough times for tonight." he added. When Mona got her bowl back, her hand dove into it. When she had a large handful, she shoved the hot kernel's into the hothead's mouth. Raphael jolted his head back in surprise. Slowly, he began to chew as Mona giggled with a hand over her mouth. When she least expected it, he retaliated with a few fallen kernels himself. Mona's back landed on him from the impact of his hand. Now, it was on. As the two had their petty fight, Leonardo kept away from the fire by sitting back down on the floor. Angel could see the somewhat downtrodden expression of his and wanted to fix it.

"It's alright, man." She placed a hand on his shoulder for he sat down beside her. " _Everybody makes mistakes. Everybody has those days_." she sang solo until her accompaniment arrived.

" _Everybody knows what, what I'm talkin 'bout, Everybody gets that way!_ "

"Whoo!" Angel and Mikey fistbumped on cue then retreated to a compose stature. Leonardo raised a brown, but he was smiling.

"I can never see why you and Mikey would be fast friends." he spoke sarcastically as he watched Donatello gain a clue.

"Don't be jealous." She said playfully. "A little more time with me and we'll be just as cool." Her smile showed no teeth and her eyes were shut by her cheek muscles. "I think." Angel kept that face when she spoke the last part. Through those squinted eyes, she could see the mutant was enjoying her playfulness and gave her a quick chuckled before looking behind him.

"Hey! You make the mess, you clean it up!" he warned the two mutants who were shoving kernels into the other's face. They looked back at him with full mouths and innocent eyes.

"He/She started it!" They pointed to one another.

"Accusation time!" The female terrapin sang.

"No! I wanna do it!" Mikey protested.

"Whoever gets there first!" She laid of the rules with a head roll. "And.." She rolled the die. "It's…" about a second passed before it showed her her numbers. "gonna be me!" She taunted at the butthurt turtle. As She was fixing up to walk to the Pool boy, she accidentally clicked a title too early to move to the one she wanted. "Wait! No no nonononono!" Venus whined to the screen as she watched her Mii come so close and then stop just before the pool.

"Ha! Sucks to be you!" Mikey honked. The female terrapin took no part of it and rather cross her arms and turned her body away from the TV, letting it sink into her bean bag chair. "Look at that." Mikey acted so smug after his die gave him an ample amount of steps and click on the pool boy. "Time to make an accusation!" Venus did not want to watch, but she wanted to know the results. Maybe they weren't the same ones she thought. "I say it was Mustard with a Candlestick in the dining room." He entered in the desired information and clicked _Next_. Again, the front of the mansion showed. "What?!" He yelped like Lil Jon. "That was solid logic!" He threw his arms towards the TV to emphasis the pure idiocracy and unfairness that was handed to him.

"Who's the loser now?" Venus rubbed it in while he had his mouth gaping open with eyes of shock.

"How can that, who could-?"

"Allow me to clear the air." Mona suggested. Running out of options to keep his sanity, he looked to his lizard lady sister. " **I** was attacked when **I** came by the dining room. Look who's in the dining room." She pointed her claw to the screen. Mikey followed it, What he saw amazed him.

"No! I thought Scarlet was in the hall!" He whined.

"How do you mess up a young movie star with an aging athlete?" Donnie inquired. The young turtle roared before throwing his hands up.

"All these Miis look the same!" Both of his arms folded into his chest in a pout, lip stuck out and all.

"And now, for your viewing pleasure, the correct set." Mona smiled when she was able to get to where the other losers were. "Scarlet with a candlestick in the dining room." Everyone leaned forward.

"Are you SERIOUS?!" She shouted at the television set that claimed her set was wrong.

"Look at Miss Right all of a sudden!" Mikey teased. Mona hastily unsnapped the wristband of her remote and tossed it to the other side of the couch.

"This game is rigged!"

"Honestly, I think we should have waited on the accusations and played longer to 'X' out other weapons." Donatello suggested. They did just dive into the accusations since they could not figure out what the mini puzzles revealed to them and the blackouts were confusing. The buzz of someone's cellphone cut the air. Each one checked to see if it was theirs. The only one's who glowed was Leonardo's, who checked the Caller ID on his phone: Vincent.

"Chief?" He asked when he answered it. Donatello turned down the Tv and the rest of the crowd stayed quiet for their leader to hear her. "Yeah, we'll be up there."Pause. "No problem at all." Pause. "Bye." He hung up the phone promptly. "They got a lead on where Shredder and Stockman may be. We need to head to TCRI." He picked himself off the ground. The rest of the family followed his example, excluding their Chicana friend.

"Hold up, I gotta put on some pants." The blanket that covered the youngest terrapin was thrown in Angel's face. When she pulled it off, her friend was already up and running towards his room in cartoon underpants.

"Hurry up!" Leo called. Mikey stopped to turn and put his hands on his hips He then began to walk backwards, jerking his hip to the side as he moved.

"You want me to stand behind you in Robin boxers while you talk to the chief?" A pouting, disapproving look from his oldest brother. "I didn't think so!"

"What are we taking?" The tallest terrapin inquired, referring to their mode of transportation.

"They just found something in the investigation."

"Party Wagon it is." He winked and left to search for the car's keys.

"We'll be back Angel!" Leo yelled as the mutant teens were up and running to the garage. "Tell Sensei we're gone!"

"Aight!" She waved back before the crowd completely disappeared. So much for downtime, she thought as she climbed up on the couch, wrapping herself into a burrito with her blanket. Behind her, she could hear the sound of shuffling feet. Given who was left, she sat up and saw the expected rat master travelling to another part of their home."The guys are at-."

"I heard them all running out of here." he interrupted as he approached the couch. His black eyes stared at the TV. Unsure of what he was thinking, she looked at the screen, then back to him. "Hmm…" he breathed. "Try the rope." His head nodded. Bewildered yet curious, she reached for the still active remote that Raphael was using and pointed it to the screen. She entered the same information Mona put in but with the rope as the weapon. The screen turned into the police incarcerating the Scarlet Mii and a quick hurrah for finding the right match.

"Dang Sensei, how'd you know that?" she asked. Instead of answering, he played with his beard, turned his back, and walked away. "Splinter." Angel began to worry. "Splinter,S-Splinter,Comó sabes eso?! Splinter!" She yelled.

"Wait for me! Wait for me!" The orange banded turtle was speeding across the room towards the exit for he was left behind by his siblings. He couldn't gain much ground as he ran and pulled up his shorts. His jacket that he'd tie around his waist was hanging, tied around his neck. The back of it acted like a flag as he ran. "My butt's hangin' out my shorts! Wait for me!"


	2. Young Adults

Driving through the city with extravagantly tinted windows was never more relaxing. Normally, they would be on the lookout for police who would want to pull them over to give them a citation for the feature. Raphael was always first to volunteer to outrun them if they were ever given the chance, but since they have now been given a pass by the police as an undercover vehicle, that chance to engage in a Tokyo Drift faded away. At least they still get those funny looks from fellow drivers and pedestrians who either ogle or ridicule the fashion of their vehicle. If only they knew this meager van withheld its own defenses.

Donnie drove to the back of the TCRI building. The entire perimeter was surrounded by armed guards and yellow tape. Noticing the van, the policeman took no time but to accept their clearance and open up a spot for them to drive on through. The driver let down his window just an inch when he stopped before the building. His car shut off and a female officer ran up to the window. Quick words were exchanged until a quick nod. She grabbed her dispatch and soon the street lights of the block turned their environment black. Only for a few seconds did this occur until the van was emptied and its passengers safely inside the TCRI structure. The mutants were immediately greeted by an officer who was assigned to take them to the floor Chief Vincent was occupying. The teens walked hurriedly, but not enough to not catch a glimpse of their surroundings. Officers, detectives, you name it were swarming out there as they pried open drawers and analyzed possible evidence. The floor altogether was emptied, swept clean in hopes of finding secrets between the walls and floorboards. When coming upon the elevator, both the space and weight capacity could not hold all six of them. They learned that after the narrow space could barely hold a turtle and a lizard together. The officer guiding them looked flushed with embarrassment and suggested that they should take the elevator meant for their machines. The hydraulics of this more industrial elevator did the trick as the family was sent up without their guide to the 9th floor of the TCRI building. They waited patiently as they were whisked up. Trying to get something started, Michelangelo started an 8-beat rhythm but no one was interested in collaborating along with him, ending the potential show short much to the young turtle's dismay. The elevator dinged and the large door opened up to them the desired room. Just like any other floor, it was flooded with more people than ordinary office items. By the large machines and some other recognizable pieces seen from Donatello's little lab, this must have been their laboratory floor. To their right, a glass box had cracked walls from the inside. To the left, computers were being hacked into and opened up for further investigation.

"Who do I have the pleasure of meeting?" Vincent's voice caused for a change of direction of mutant heads. She stepped sharply with her assistant struggling to keep up with her. The mutant gang opened up to her as she approached them with a content expression. Although alright on the outside and having usual contact with the male mutants, the differences of the girls struck a hushed awe within herself.

"These are our sisters you remember. 'Member?" Mikey spoke in a silly tone as he pulled his two sisters up to the chief. Yes, she remembered them but only as the boys have recalled. It was the first time she had officially met the two girls due to their absence in China.

"Of course, but not by blood, correct?"

"We're still a family." Venus assured. Blood or not, they were a family and it would be best to pass that knowledge around to others who may want to challenge it. Thankfully, Vincent smiled, nodding while facing the floor.

"Of course. Chief Vincent of the New York Police Department." She stook out a sharp hand for Mona to grab onto.

"Mona Lisa, kunoichi." With such authority, Mona strived to match the same basic and affirmative tone as the chief held. After saying so, she felt more power through her throat.

"Kunoichi?"

"Female ninja." The lizard lady added after remembering it is not a commonly known phrase in America. Vincent made an 'O' with her mouth, and then turn to Venus with her hand.

"Venus de Milo, kunoichi and magician."

"A magician, so you like to create illusions?" As she asked, Vincent turned away and began to walk. The clan followed closely behind her for they knew she was ready to get down to business.

"Something like that." The female terrapin almost whispered as they walked with the most mischievous look on her face.

"I'm glad all of you are here for I believe our team has found something you'll all want to see."

"The place looks empty." Raph commented as a team with baggies full of random items passed by. Most likely they were going to go to their forensic labs to find a clue through them.

"We're almost there. Ever since, we've swiped the entire building clean. Unfortunately, they seemed to have removed the latter of their possible experiments, plans, files, you name it. But, we have come across something quite interesting." They came across a black desk with the surface swept clean. Vincent went behind it and sat in the chair. Bending over, she opened a cabinet and appeared to be fishing through some files. Michelangelo took it upon himself to sit on the corner of the table as he waited for her to pull out the desired file. Mona shook her head defeatedly for the child being so childish, but then again she knew who they were dealing with.

"Gentlemen, and ladies, in this file is useful information we can use to track down Baxter Stockman." The black file was handed in Leonardo's direction. The leader took it and opened it up. The breaths of five beat down his neck as he tried to tolerate it and read. There was picture of a man's profile. He looked confident with his eyes glaring through his spectacles. Surprisingly enough, he was a rather alright-looking man. Beneath his picture was his name in bold letters: **Seth Chapelin**. To the left, numerous notable characteristics and achievements of the well decorated, red-headed man were listed. The red banded turtle was the first to respond.

"A resumè?" He raised his brow and looked to her with an unamused tone.

"His entire bio." She clarified, ending his snarky expression. Donatello's arm pushed Leonardo and Venus forward a little and lay it over their shoulders to point out something in the file.

"Doctor Chapelin, robotics engineer. Stationed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil." He read to them, tracing his finger under each word quite intrigued.

"Read further" she dared as her back was engulfed into the back of her seat. Vincent crossed her arms as well as her legs. "and you find that Chapelin is the assistant of Stockman." Donatello was the only one to look further into it. Once he got that surprised, eyebrow raised look, they took her word for it.

"He looks so young." Venus mumbled as she stared at his profile picture. Leonardo was beginning to pass it on to her for her took look more throughout the file and she pulled back at it. Once in her hands, she read on further what she couldn't see from the view beside Leo.

"And incredibly intelligent." Vincent added in regards to Venus' surprise. "With this, I was hoping you all could do a little investigation on your own." Leonardo nodded.

"But what about finding Shredder?" Vincent's gaze moved to Michelangelo, whose shrugged shoulders questioned her motives. "He's got to be number one priority, right?"

"Of course, but we are unable to pick up his tracks. My hopes are that if you can find Chapelin and find out what rock Stockman is hiding-."

"We find Shredder through him." Leonardo finished. Vincent nodded.

"Precisely."

"So," Mona dwelled on "does this mean what I think you're saying?" She asked. The chief sat up from her chair. Her hands were clasped together and on the desk just as the elbows that supported her upper body.

"I heard it's Carnival season. Would you all like to see Brazil, again apparently?"

"Well," Raphael looked to the ground, shaking his head. "I wasn't too fond of the crash." Oh yeah, like he wanted to blow up in the sky and come hurdling down to be skipped like a rock and barely survive a waterfall. Just the thought of flying again got him rubbing the back on his neck in anxiety.

"Softshell." He heard Michelangelo mutter.

"Moron." Raphael retaliated, a little louder this time.

"Numbskull!" Louder.

"Shrek the Third!" Louder.

"Children, children!" Donatello's quick claps and breaking their stares between one another with his own stopped the two brothers from continuing. Both huffed and turned away in a pouting fashion. "We have more important things to deal with other than your pettiness."

"I sometimes forget you are all still children." Her passively-mocking tone did not sit right with the others of the group. Although she really did not mean to cause a stir, she was right. Here, they were supposed to be mature with adult responsibilities yet their name-calling and pouting in the middle of a serious investigation. Some heroes.

"Teenagers," Mikey clarified, trying to fix the situation. Suddenly, he began to lean closer to her with his elbow resting on the desk. Then, his hand held up his chin with his pointer finger lining up the side of his face. It was his way of looking 'classy'. " but we can still have those adult conversations." He spoke with such melody. Mona grabbed him by the rim of his shell and yanked him up. The young terrapin yelped when she pulled him close for her to whisper to him.

"Not helping." Even though yanking someone is completely appropriate and mature.

"17's pretty close to 18." He wanted to argue, but the lizard lady was not having it.

"Young adults." Venus took a deep breath before stating. "Young adults with" she looked to the lizard and the terrapin in which she kept her grip on. "childish antics." she finished, quite defeated and cynical. Leonardo closed his eyes briefly as his way of saying that this was definitely not happening in front of Vincent. A quick breath and he carried on.

"We'll have to check in with Splinter, but he should be ok with it." He looked to the folder that was hanging down loosely at Venus' side. He slipped it out of her tight grip and tucked it under his arm. Then, he scanned over his team. "It's not the first time we all went on a mission on the other side of the globe, right?" That statement carried over a knowing smile between all six mutants. It also brought one upon Vincent's own lips.

"Contact as soon as you can. I'll make arrangements for your departure."


	3. Packed Up

For the past hour, Leonardo had been talking with Splinter when they got back home. The family knew better to stray from their conversation, but every now and then as the two wondered about the lair, one or two would catch Leo's haze, asking through their eyes whether or not they were allowed to go. When Splinter had not yet given an answer, his eyes would squint quickly with a scowl before presuming his attention to his father. Sure enough, one of the mutants got a quick nod instead. At the moment, the mutants began packing while Splinter continued to speak with Leonardo. Word has been spread all the way to the surface in which April and Casey had come down to see them.

Currently, April was assisting Donatello with his pack as Casey sat on his desk with arms folded and nonchalantly expecting his lab. The turtles do not amuse him much just as Vern but they were good kids and it would be polite to see them off.

"You guys head off to more trips than I've ever taken. I thought I was the reporter." April realized, laughing as she folded and tucked a blanket in his bag.

"The tables have turned." He snickered while folding some wires up and wrapping them neatly. "You know where everything's at, right?" Apil stopped to count off her fingers.

"Food in the fridge, beds in the bedroom, secret soda stash, yep." She spoke with ease while her eyes looked aimlessly to the sky as she listed everything off. Donnie shook his head smiling.

"Check the cabinets." He dared. A devious smile from him had the girl smile as well when she left his room. In a matter of seconds (The boy's rooms were never too far from the kitchen), she returned back with a little plastic container. There was a label covering it for the most part, but you were able to make out the many tiny, hard pieces when she gave it a shake.

"Wasabi peas!" She exclaimed with the upmost gratitude. The guys introduced it to her but mostly as a last resort snack. Once they got her hooked, they could see April devouring their entire supply in one sitting (in which Donnie did warn was bad for her). It has become so constant that Raphael began to call it "O'neil's rabbit food".

"Wasabi peas?" Casey echoed less enthusiastically. He put out his hand. "Let me see those." He asked in which April complied with a twisted smile. The man read the label, which was clear as day and opened the top. One whiff and his entire face contorted of disgust from the pungent smell of the wasabi.

"How can you eat these?" He cried, forcing the container closed and back into her hands. April shook her head and popped one into her mouth to show off.

"Now I know you won't get into them." She smirked. Casey's eyes were upset and watery with his shirt bunched up by his nose.

"It's just a little appreciation for you keeping Splinter company down here. We didn't know what you liked Casey," He admitted, plopping himself into his chair to continue packing while sitting. "but April can show you our stashes."

"No problem, I enjoy hanging with him." The woman added. "Brings back some of the good times, you know." With warm memories, she placed a noisy plastic bag full of who knows what in his pack.

"W-wait!" Jones unplugged his nose and stood up straight. "The rat's the only one down here?" The terrapin looked done with his half-lidded expression and notable groan towards the man. April, too, showed her dismay by rolling her eyes.

"He has a name. Master Splinter."

"Master-my-butt!" He spoke without thinking. The room got quiet for a moment, waiting on the man to apologize for refusing to recognize Splinter and contemplate what he just shouted. Soon the man realized and shook his head and arms. "Anyways, you expect me to keep company with... " He caught himself before he could say "Splinter? After the… man took me down after meeting him?" There was so much distress in his tone that Donatello had a hard time keeping his smile to himself.

"You charged him." He said to keep his quick bursts of air from passing his lips, practically choking on his laughter. Casey extended his arm to 'point' and stepped towards the two.

"After you guys told me to!"

"That's all Raph and Mikey." At this point, Donatello's could only hide his face in his lap. Sure, he was already somewhat laughing, but maybe not showing the contorted smile on his face won't upset the man any further.

"But you stood there and watched!" He yelled over his shell. Despite his best efforts to get across the two, a turtle was cracking up laughing and the woman was on his side, not laughing but still smiling.

"If I'm not here," Her sentence broke up some from the hidden giggles within herself. April placed a hand on his shell to acknowledge him that she was talking to him. "A-angel decided she wants to come down too. She enjoys maintaining his little baby trees."

"Bonsai trees." The terrapin rose with glee. A finger went to wipe a tear out of his eye. "Doesn't seem her style."

"She's a special one."

"Angel…" Casey interrupted. "that's your kid, right? The girl you took in?"

"That's the one."

"Why's she not here? Mikey left to go to her house, but I'd think she'd come to us to see us all off." He reached over his desk to grab a few boxes of different flavored pop-tarts to put in his bag. So far, it looked like there was not enough space for a couple of the boxes to not make the trip, but Donnie would find a way. Donnie will find a way.

"Today's not a fun day for her." She explained. Her joyful tone deteriorated and spoke a little quieter. "Girl stuff." A slight head cock forward and crossed arms was enough of an answer for him.

"Say no more." He said, putting his hands up in surrender. Then, he looked to stuff the last two boxes in his bag but the zipper wouldn't budge. He'd pack them tighter, but he wouldn't treat his precious snacks like that. Crumbly pop tarts = OH HECK NAW! The turtle sulked for a brief moment, devising a plan until he took the two of them out and handed them April's way. "Can you go tell Raph to stuff this in his bag? He'll probably give less attitude if you ask." Donatello stuck out his lip and made his eyes larger than usual. April couldn't resist the pouting puppy. She mimicked his face and took them out of his hands. When she did, he gave her a smile so wide that he had to shut his eyes to make it.

"Sure."

A good 30 minute subway ride away, the block was bustling for the most part. The apartment complex the color of clay housed the Bridge family on the top floor. Abuela Bridge was in the livingroom watching reruns of "Judge Judy" before she left for work for the day. The door of the second bedroom was shut up tight. Even Abuela knew that today (or this week for that matter) was not a day that Angel can thoroughly control her emotions and outbursts. Man, did she have them. No pain medications could help this girl and the people that knew her knew clear well not to test her for the time being.

The Chicana gathered herself in a fetal position on her bed. One of her pillows her being suffocated by her hug while she left her phone on her Spotify playlist "Chillin". Ironically, this girl wasn't chill at all. In fact, she was sweating but not dared to wear something lighter than a sweatshirt and pants because she would be more uncomfortable as her stomach felt like it was being stabbed. The only way to escape some heat was to keep her hair up in a bun but it did not do much. This was how she was going to spend her first day of this hellish week.

 _Knock knock!_ Angel can't recall ever reacting so quick. Less than a second, her pillow was out of her hands, she was up and was now looking around in suspicion. The sound was recognizable when she look towards her window which no longer appeared to be a window by the large obstruction in view.

"Angel, open up." His voice was husky. Angel stood up and stepped towards the door. She had to adjust her eyes for they were pressed too hard against her fists, causing some black spots and other dark colors to her vision.

"Mikey, what you doin'?" She whispered back,just as huskily so her abuela couldn't hear. She already asked her to turn her music down; there's no need for her to become suspicious that a boy climbed into her window (a very _special_ boy at that). The terrapin straddled himself against the window, keeping his feet up on the sill and hands close to his body in the case someone sees him and believes he's just this really weird decoration and not a giant turtle."Get in before somebody see you." She lifted up her window for her friend. Michelangelo lifted his legs and stepped into her room. His body tilted forward and sideways in order to make himself fit through the frame of the window. When he got inside, the full brightness of the day hit Angel with a vengeance, causing her to hiss and growl at it while shielding her eyes to shut it back up. The chicana turned around and when she did the turtle was smiling and leaning forward with his hands behind his shell.

"I got you things." He whispered. Instantly, that brought up the good in Angel.

"Ooh? Things?" The girl tried to inspect what was behind his back, but he stood up straight and kept her away.

"Aw yeah. If you have a couple days of involuntary discomfort, then we're gonna spend them right."

"Aww, boo." Despite her pout, she was incredibly excited for what her best friend had in store.

"Check it. Got you a snickers" he whipped out the king size bar behind his back. His other hand remained behind him. "cause snickers satisfies." He presented it to her like a gift to a Princess, complete with a flat hand and a bow that brought his eyes to the floor. He brought her chocolate? She could cry if she wasn't ripping up the wrapper to get a bite. Briefly, she looked up when she was chewing and saw an amused look on his face. It didn't matter though; there was candy in her hands. So bad did she want to give him a hug with her free arm, but his own stopped her. "Wait, sit in bed while I pop this in." The hand behind his back beheld a DVD of _Friday_ , one of her all-time favorites.

"Boo, you suave." Michelangelo shrugged.

"I know."

Her playlist was now off and her abuela already spoke through her door to inform her that she had gone for work. Now, the two friends could watch their film freely with any commentary. Michelangelo was watching the film upside down because a.) he can't fit on her bed (By the way which she had lifted just for when he visited to make him more comfortable), b.) he's more of a watch-Tv-up-close type of person, and c.) the upside down part was just random. On his plastron, Angel placed her arm and head there to get a close view and keep her head lifted. Currently, the character "Smokey" was being ratted out by the film's crackhead "Ezel".

"Uhhhhh!" The terrapin felt his heat source cringe atop him. He curled up to see his friend grasp her stomach.

"Cramp?" Michelangelo asked most apologetically.

"Really hoping it's not a contraction." She murmured.

"Could it?"

"Shut up." Angel tried to wipe that smirk off his face with a push. The turtle beamed, curling up all the way until he was sitting up.

"Lie on your stomach." he ordered, pointing his finger down to the bed. Angel raised her brow.

"What you gonna do?" Her tone was very suspicious.

"Don't trust me?"

"Heck no, what are you doing?"

"Dang, I got all this stuff to deal with your moodiness and suddenly I'm distrustworthy."

"No, you're my best friend Mike who also happens to be a prankster." He paused.

"All is fair." He admitted. "I'm gonna give you relief from your cramps." A further explanation helped some. Angel was going to comply, but with caution. "On your stomach." he demanded.

"Pushy." Angel sprawled out on her bed, stomach down.

"I need your back." He asked. The girl used her legs to lift her abdomen off the bed. She was still a little suspicious but complied by pulling the back of her sweatshirt up which exposed her back to him. Her head was in her pillow, but it did not ease her when she heard him crack his knuckles ( at least she guessed they were his knuckles. Not a good time for a prank, Mikey). "Alright, my hands are gonna be low but don't stress about it." He began at her ribcage. His large hands overlapped at the palms with finger fingers gripping her sides. Slowly, he glided them down. At one point, a little too far down for Angel's comfort.

"Hey, watch it." She brought her face out of her bed to warn him harshly.

"What did I just say?" He snapped back sassily. This was all apart of the process so she needs to get over it. "Ok, if this were to be my ring finger," she heard him talk to himself. Hopefully this walkthrough would ease her nerves. "then the pressure point should be…" He pressed a knuckle into a part of her lower back. "here!"

Angel was sure she saw Jesus after that. Just as soon as he pressed his knuckles into her, the cramps were subsiding.

"Omg, how's that workin?" She exclaimed, thoroughly enjoying the treatment.

"I did my research." He replied cockily.

"Real suave, boo. Real suave." Angel managed to say as he continued to give her a treatment fitting for a princess. "If you get you a wifey, she won't deserve you at all."

"Well, I'd rather comfort my best friend first." He replied. The chicana turned her head to look at him. He was over her legs while his hands worked on her back.

"I could use a cuddle buddy."

"I've been waiting all day for those words, come here!" The terrapin let his body fall on top of her. Before she could protest and return her request, he already had her wrapped up in his arms. A crocodile's death roll got her giggling in his possession. Despite a plastron, Mikey was always cuddly in Angel's eyes. It felt nice to be engulfed in someone else's arms, as most people would argue, and this set belonged to her best friend.

"I wonder how much it is if I sell my uterus." The weird question raised a brow from the terrapin and look at her in the eye.

"Why sell it? We need a couple more Angels in the world." The orange banded terrapin

"Boo. It's a pain to me when I'm not pregnant, it'll be a pain when I am… Where's the upside? You know I don't really like kids." Oh, he knew. Sure, kids liked her and always sought her out of they knew her and Angel's been nothing less of a playmate. However, having to deal with the little "annoying ankle biters" who cried usually for the smallest things and got into trouble and made messes...nope. She couldn't see kids anywhere near in her future. A child herself, Angel confirmed she wouldn't want to risk raising a child like herself. That'd be too much.

"Yeah, I know." He whined. "So… give me one." Angel looked up. In her view, she can only see his neck and under his chin.

"Do you realize what you just said?"

"Yeah. You go ahead and have a baby and give it to me. I like kids, so I'll raise yours." Mikey tried to bargain.

"Who's the baby daddy?"

"I don't know…" he thought quickly. "Somebody rich that we can totally bump money off of in the long run."

"You crazy, Mikey!"

"Did it make you feel better?" He pulled his chin down which nestled into her high bun.

"Not too much, but I guess." Angel had to agree, especially with that goofy grin spread across her face. "How long ya'll think ya'll be gone?"

"Who knows? A week, a month?"

"Where ya'll gonna stay?"

"Vincent didn't give us up to the local police, so we have no help on that end. We're all on our own, really."

"How you gonna go to a different country and don't know where you gonna stay? How yall gonna eat?" The girl was obviously concerned, much like a mother. "I've seen yo appetite. 30 minutes without a snack, you go crawlin' on your knees." Suddenly, she began to speak breathlessly. "Food! Water! Atmosphere!" Angel played while making a spongebob reference that he could understand. The terrapin surrounding her gave her a tight squeeze and a fake, sarcastic chuckle.

"I forgot how to laugh." Remembering his friend's condition, he let up his grip on her just in case she decided to bite him anytime soon. "The NYPD set us up for two weeks. If we need more, we call ahead and they send more in." Then, it was _his_ turn to make a reference, but this time was a musical number. "Beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes, lamb, rams, hog, dogs, YOU NAME IT!" Although not exactly everything the police department was going to send with them, Angel got the gist of it as well as a giggle.

"Sweet hookup." She agreed, looking to the screen. "Imma miss you, homeslice. It's never as fun without you around."

"I know, I'm wonderful. When we get back, I promise we'll go shopping cart sailing."

"What's that?"

"Where have you been?"

"I don't want any of you split up for the duration of your visit." Backtrack to that thirty minute trip, Splinter and Leonardo were still conversing on their walk around the home. Splinter was least concerned for Leo to pack for he was the "mother figure" and wouldn't dare to leave anything behind (or let anybody leave something important behind). He utilized this time to get Leo alone and have some one-on-one time to configure what his plans were.

"Does that mean we can't split up into teams?" He asked. Splinter pointed a finger at him, continuing to gingerly walk through the tunnels.

"It means I want all six of my children to return." He spoke firmly. Leonardo looked at his straight in the eye and nodded. He then brought his hands behind his shell and walked with his head down. The older rat placed a hand on his plastron to stop him. The gentle touch did the trick as well as provoc the terrapin's gaze. "Our family is young and looking to be more and more independent. There's no need to be looking for any lost mutant in a jungle."

"I promise." With assurance, Splinter patted his son on the abdomen and continued to walk. "There's only a single location we are supposed to check out so far." The blue banded terrapin furtherly explained. "If anything, we'll get what we need and come back home in one piece."

"You're growing up, Leonardo." He paused. "You children are travelling the world while saving it. I couldn't be more proud of all of you." His black nose rose to the air to show his pride through his eyes to his eldest son. He knew these words of encouragement are the world to him and now was a good time to exchange them. With his face slightly twitching in some parts of his features, Splinter smiled knowing that his son was hiding his blush as best as he could from him to maintain his standard composure.

"Thanks, dad." It was hard to look into his eyes without showing too much emotion. Splinter chuckled. Leo couldn't comply why, but he allowed it to happen without having to know the consequence.

As they came back around the main frame of the house, there was an audible grunts and other distressing sounds. A flicker of Splinter's ear caused first alarm.

"What's that noise?" The rat asked while his nose led the way to the noise. He was the one of the house to pinpoint noises and smells much more accurately than the boys' or girls' best. The upset took them down the hall of rooms in which the noise led them to the lit room belonged to the two mutant girls. The two of them approached the doorway cautiously. Inside, they saw the most bizarre display. On top of a large almost suitcase-like backpack, Venus weighed the overly packed baggage with April trying her hardest to keep the seams down for Mona to zip it all up.

"Um… some help?" Leo asked, in which in return he got three expressions of three deer caught in the headlights.

"We could use a boulder." Venus commented on her part. Maybe more weight on top will keep their belongings altogether. Maybe… just maybe (or leave some stuff behind? Nah.)

"Say no more!" Mona jumped in; her breath rushed out after she let go of the thick zipper. When she released it, April, too, breathed and quit pulling the seam down for her. "Raph!" Her lungs bellowed out. "Get in here!"


	4. Two Truths and a Lie

It was not long the family began to bore. Almost an hour ago, they saluted their friends and family before boarding the plane and twenty passed since they've taken off. The aircraft was just as big as the one they've taken to China. Instead of having someone as incompetent like Vern, Chief Vincent really hooked them up with a fully qualified officer as their pilot. She's been a seasoned officer now a pilot for over seas and cross country trips and had worked with the turtles before.

Meanwhile she was contented flying the plane, the mutants were not so. Silent, but bored. They anticipated it, but not this quickly into the trip. For sure they haven't even crossed a few states. Amongst the silence, Michelangelo groaned with a pitch sure to match decibels surpassed the few with headphones on, causing them to remove them for the sake of alarm. The rest, however, fell victim to the murder of their eardrums and jumped out of their skin.

"AHH WHAT!?" Raphael was one without headphones. Michelangelo was sitting in front of him and found it fitting to use all his might to push the shell out of his seat. Venus, who was sitting in the aisle across from Michelangelo's seat, brought her knees up to her chest after the quick scare. The orange colored terrapin turned from his seat to allow his eyes to peer over it.

"I'm bored!" he bellowed forcefully. There was a collective sigh and slump.

"And we aren't?" Venus added, stretching out her legs to their original position.

"I got _Suicide Squad_ on Amazon," His head popped out very quickly to see Donnie's content expression present the title of the movie on his tablet. "but we got to wait for it to buffer before we watch it." He groaned, throwing his arms up in the air while his seat caught his shell when he fell back into it. There was little sympathy after what he'd done earlier as the tips of his fingers drug down his tear ducts from his eyeballs.

"Wanna play a game?"

"What kind?" Venus straightened up more against the wall of the plane. A game would be nice about now. The turtle looked off to the side and shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know… ya'll got any?" He asked. Collectively, the group pondered on the thought. Then, there was a gasp from Donatello.

"Oh! Two Truths and a Lie?" He proposed.

"I'm down." Leo chimed in, bringing himself closer in the aisle.

"Let's go." Michelangelo rubbed his dry hands in approval, ready to go.

"Me first!" The suggester raised his hand. All six mutants scooted closer in the aisles to participate and speculate the game. Donnie took a moment to think it over. When he came up with his statement, he shook his head and made eye contact with everyone. "At the junkyard, I have a homeless friend who is a former college professor. I don't need my glasses. I made a serum secretly to make me tall." A brow and the side of his glasses rose cockily for he'd given them a good run. From their expressions he could tell they were all sampling each scenario.

"He was in-between Leo and I." Raphael mumbled; chin lying between his fingers.

"I don't know, I want to guess glasses but…" Mona paused, continuing to think it over before she gave her final verdict. "I don't know."

"I'm gonna go with the homeless professor." Leo answered.

"I gotta say the growth serum." Mikey said; Venus and Raphael agreed with him. There was a smile overtaking his face.

"I never made a growth serum. I just grew." The purple banded turtle revealed. Although he knew it was a good set, he still couldn't believe most of them believed in the lie.

"So, your friend?" Mona asked.

"The professor? He'd rather not give his real name, but he's always talking about theories. Most of them make sense."

"My turn!" Michelangelo raised his hand. Once all eyes were on him, he began. "I secretly watch _Shameless_. I'm a Changeling in my PC game 'Super Quest'. Splinter once told me I had the most potential."

"Is is wrong to say he has 'no potential'?" Very unamused and looks of "What's wrong with you? Don't say that to his face" were all implemented on him. Instead of putting his hands up in surrender, Raphael stood his ground and leaned in closer. "I'm just saying, I think that's the lie." He replied truthfully.

"What's _Shameless_?" Venus asked. Leonardo met her face by turning his head to the right.

"An adult-oriented tv show that he," Then, his head stared straight on at the turtle across from him. Quickly, his calm, explaining demeanor changed to a mother disciplining her child " **shouldn't** be watching." Venus, trying to catch on, looked to why he was looking at his brother so hard and had to ask:

"How do you know that?" His demeanor changed again. He appeared choked up and slightly embarrassed. Leonardo's frame stiffened and straightened up while crossing his arms over his chest. The turtle girl raised a brow but smiled all the same.

"I've stumbled upon _Shameless_ once while flipping the channels." He stated matter-of-factly. Michelangelo leaned in more to the point that his arm supported him on the seat Leonardo's legs were occupying.

"And-?" He asked with a knowing smile. Leo tried to find a nice way to put it without embarrassing himself.

"I was scarred." Was the way he put it.

" _Shameless_ is the lie." Venus guessed; Mona and Donatello did as well.

"Vote me in for 'No potential'." Raphael stood alone on this one. Leonardo refused to answer, most likely because he had his suspicions.

"Ha!" The youngest turtle pointed a hearty finger at his team. "I got ya'll good! I'm a White Knight in 'Super Quest'!" Oh, wow. You're really a **knight** in that online game you play. Wicked, bro.

"Lame lie." The largest turtle sank back into his seat; the corner of his lip twitched.

"You watch _Shameless_?!" We all know who exploded on this one. Now resting his elbows on his knees, his clear blue eyes stared into his younger brother in shock. "You're way too underaged!" Michelangelo leaned back in horror. His fingers gripped in the seat with his legs partially in the air in case Leo wanted to pounce of him.

"I'm into the plotline, not the vulgar stuff!" He tried to explain to keep a full blown smackdown occur on the plane. "Besides, I like Noel Fisher. Bro's cool!" He added. Truthful, but he also hoped it would calm their leader down and rethink about telling on him.

"Uh, huh." There was a stiff silence. Although barely lasting seconds, it felt like forever due to Michelangelo's anxiety and sweat reflex coming from his brow. Suddenly, he jumped out of his seat and pointed to the turtle sitting behind him.

"Raph watches _Blue Mountain State_!" Like a true tattletale. Immediately, the red clad turtle sat up straight to retaliate.

"Why you putting my business out like that? What's wrong with you?"

"It's a cool show too!" He formed a circle with his thumb and pointer finger, leaving the remaining digit up. You have got to make amends with Raphael quickly; that's the trick of the trade. "Thad Castle, dude. Freaking hilarious! Have you watched _Rise of Thadland_ yet?" True, he was just mentioning his favorite actor to keep him from pummeling him, but it was also true that his character is definitely on the top of his list.

"Nope, been waiting for a time when everybody was out." His anger turned to joy that somebody else liked Thad just like him. The fanboy within him whispered this notion to his youngest brother, who nodded understandably.

"Excuse me!" Leonardo interrupted explosively. "Are we going to ignore the fact that you're both under aged for watching those programs?!"

"Relax momma turtle." As of Michelangelo wasn't the one freaking out earlier. Now with Raph on his side, he felt not-alone and untouchable. "You'd like _Shameless._ Pete Ploszek shows up in a couple episodes." Another reminder of one's favorite actor to get on his good side only this time the young turtle wasn't as fond of him. Then, the most slyest smile curled up on Raphael's lips. Internally, those who noticed began to worry.

"Besides," he began so humbly. "we know you watched _Jackass_ ." It just got real. The leader's face face went red so quickly in a blush.

"What?!" He screamed incredulously. A weight settled on the leader's chest. They all knew very well they weren't allowed to watch adult content (by law) and that Splinter would definitely disapprove. His brother's knew about it too.

"Didn't think we saw that, hm?" Donnie sang with a cocked eyebrow and leisurely lean on his seat. "Thought we were all somewhere else… Talk about tasteless." Surely he had to hide when watching that. First, Splinter's disapproval. Second, for sure they would look at him as less of a serious being if he were to watch Knoxville (a favorite of his) and his crew performing ugly and insane stunts such as teeter tottering with a bull and taking a limo ride with a beehive. That's so unprofessional.

"We won't tell if you don't tell. Up to you, bro." Michelangelo matched his tallest brother's stance.

"Blackmail's a b*****, isn't it?"

"You watched a donkey?" Venus nearly whispered. When she leaned towards the leader's direction, who was sitting behind her, the leader leaned back into the seat by the window. Michelangelo wanted to feel sympathy and laugh when he saw his brother's shot up eyes and tense posture completely amped by her curiosity. With no answers coming from the leader, Mona asked the turtle next to her.

"Doing what?" Her tone was deep and inquisitive. The purple clad terrapin raised up his hands and faced forward. When she tried to get answers from Raphael, his grinned while shaking his head and turned away from her.

"Mona's turn!" Mikey exclaimed. Oh, right! They're playing a game.

"I suck at stuff like this." The lizard lady sighed.

"Try." Mikey pleaded. Don't you hate it when people try not to participate in a game? Only just to speculate.

"Um…" Attentions were focused on her, much to Leonardo's relief. "I once had an imaginary therapist that was a running gag amongst my friends…" It felt as if the ending sound of her words were dawned on until she thought of the next idea. "I made my teacher cry because he couldn't comprehend the complex and thorough physics experiment I conducted. I need just one more. Something outrageous..." They waited on her. Already, they were weighing out their answers. "I don't know!" She exclaimed. "I've found someone?" Her ill-sincere tone and the possibilities between all three statements induced a collective:

"Lie." From all the rest.

"You really do suck at this game. That's way too easy." Mikey teased.

"Told ya." She half-laughed, defeated easily but still smiling because it truly was an ill-attempt to fool them.

"And you guys thought my lie sucked." He sighed from the short fit of laughter. Leaning back on his shell, he wiped his forehead with his forearm. The plane began to quiet again. "You know what I just realized? We're old."

"Mikey." Raph groaned.

"No, think about it." he sat up. Scrunched up eyebrows, searching eyes on the ground and an outstretched arm pretended to grab some type of ghost-like object, this turtle was getting to the bottom of something. "Humans our age will be expected to move out and pay bills on their own! Sheesh! Mona should be doing that right now!"

"Is this your special way of getting me out of the house?"

"Don't take it like that." He waved her off. "Just think about it. What are we going to do when we hit that patch?"

"He's got a point." The female turtle crossed her legs. "Are any of you planning on leaving the lair? Leaving sensei and each other to conduct our own seperate lives? Or, are we going to stick together for years to come?"

"Never really thought about it. For me," Donatello began. " it's been more thinking in the heat of the moment. Never did I think about hitting forty or so."

"You still thinking about leaving, Raph?" Leo quizzed in a deep tone, eyes kept on his knees.

"What made you think I'd wanna leave?" He replied rather surprised he would say such a thing.

"Because you said and I quote" The youngest terrapin put a finger up and cleared his throat. "'I'm moving out on my own, first chance that I get.'" He impersonated his brother using his own "batman voice". The impersonated turtle scoffed.

"That was two years ago."

"And…?"

"And I said I wasn't." The terrapin reacted aggressively in voice.

"No, " Mikey folded his arms up to his chest and put his nose into the air. "you said it was because you thought you weren't enough to stand by us." He expressed haughtily. With old emotions and insecurities re-emerging, the largest turtle shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Although he knew all eyes were on him, only two caught his attention due to them both being right in front of him. Leonardo looked just as uncomfortable as he is. Collected in but with eyes obviously trying to glance at him, you could tell he wanted to comfort him in some way: find a way to tell him "it's ok" and that there was no reason to regret saying so. The other had her brown eyes looking sympathetically, hugging her seat and feeling sorry for his discomfort.

"Leave me alone." He grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. A response towards Michelangelo, it was also directed to keep the lizard and blue banded turtle from being sorry for him. Both cut off their feelings; his brother dropping his gaze and Mona sinking back into her chair.

"You'll stay Venus, right?" Donnie redirected their attentions for his own personal inquiry.

"I always thought I was going to be in my village when I thought about it. Surely, I won't go back." She smiled. "I just got you guys" a warm smile to Mikey then to Leo. "but if any of you choose to go solo or some other combo, I'm not going to get in the way of that." In her heart, her loyalties and love would never change if they decided to leave her for their own personal reasons. Venus respected that.

"I can't leave you, V." Her sister poked her head through the aisle. Donatello moved his outstretched legs some to allow her to. "Can't get rid of this girl." Mona winked, smiling. The turtle girl returned the same, warm affections with her head poking out.

"I can see you guys up in the mountains by April's family estate." The purple clad turtle beamed, imagining their futures. "You could stay with your horses up there."

"Hmm… didn't come to think about that." That would indeed be nice. Living the rest of their lives in a place much like how they grew up: isolated in the forest, being together everyday and with their beloved pets. Surely, it would be splendid if they did. "I'd say for all of us, if we were to part, it wouldn't be far." Mikey followed up Venus' assertion.

"Nobody said this was a permanent I'm-never-going-to-see-you-again type of deal. Might as well be neighbors or at least an hour drive away." He paused. "But 'where'?"

"Leo, would you ever leave?" Mona Lisa questioned. Now, if there weren't any more of a strict attention span throughout this ride, this one topped them all. The leader jumped some n his seat with the sudden silence on the plane. As he gathered his thought, the drone of the plane nerved him. He cleared his throat.

"My job is to protect all of you. Splinter never mentioned when we'd get older. I won't stay where I'm not needed. It's all up to you guys." That's Leonardo for you. Always putting the team before himself (or most of the time). The team would expect that kind of answer coming from him.

"We'll burn that bridge when we get to it." The red clad turtle added; his response was like a comfortable yawn because he was stretching his arms when he commented.

"It's 'cross', Raph. 'Cross that bridge'." Donatello corrected with patience.

"That just takes all the fun out of that now, doesn't it?"

"Ey!" The youngest turtle yelled again, causing another yet slightly less jumpy response from the team. "Whose turn is it?"

"Mona…" Venus' tongue lingered on the thought. "Leo, you're up." She sang with her finger flicking up to him.

"Fine." It didn't sound so fine with him, but whatever (he was one of those spectators we didn't like earlier). "I reenact _Star Wars_ when I'm alone. Kitchen appliances hate me. When I was a kid, I thought there were leprechauns in every box of Lucky Charms."

"Reenact Star Wars when you're alone." Another collective answer. Leo's head twitched as they all laughed.

"What? No!" He tried to calm himself down enough so that when he placed his hand on Leo's knee, Michelangelo could make a clear delivery.

"Dude, you think you're alone, but you're not." The turtle being made fun of hid his closest cheek in the palm of his hand to hide his blush. He could feel the warm blood in his palm, which nerved him even more.

"Busted!" Mona replied sassily with a head roll. Donatello snapped with a swinging arm, winked, and spoke with a cartoony demeanor.

"Foiled again!" The reverie slowly brought a smile to the leader's face.

"I would've gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids!" That came out of nowhere, but the family was sure glad to see him come out of his shell. Suddenly, he stood up from his seat. His stance was ready to pounce, hands up with glances in Michelangelo and Donatello's direction (they were the ringleaders of the laughter).

"Raggy!" Donnie jumped up. He made it careful to keep his head from hitting the roof of the plane, but when he came down from his jump he was able to stand up straight.

"Zoinks, Scoob!" Michelangelo spoke comically, also rising. "Like, run!" That was the set off to get Leonardo running. Both parties were laughing their shells off as they ran and tackled one another on either sides of the plane. When they came close to a sitting team member, said sitter would shield themselves from their play fight until they went away and wrestled in a different spot. As the playful fighting made its way away from the three, Venus uncurled and leaned in Raphael's direction.

"What did he watch the donkey do?"


	5. Send It in a Text

The moment they felt the wheels of the plane retouch the Earth, the reality set in. Raphael, whose eyes were clamped shut, continued to slow his breaths as well as channel his fear of flight. The rest behaved as children: shoving their faces into the small window in hopes to soak in the new tropical world they've landed on. From a TV stance, they were hoping for hot sunshine to bask in upon their faces, but with an almost set sun, only the city lights illuminated the tropical beauty.

The door from the cockpit opened. Behind it, the reserved woman stepped through with utmost care in her standing. The mutants quieted to see what she was about to say.

"I recommend staying on board for another hour so you can sneak off with minimal sightings." She spoke in a quiet, authoritative voice. "Closest place to hide is along the Corcovado mountain just this way." She ducked down to meet the level of one of the windows on her left side. Mutants who were on their left crawled over to the right to see what she was pointing at, sitting with their neighbor. The sky was a grey-blue, but there was orange light just creeping underneath it. With it, they can make out the rolling mountains in depth and an enlarged statue. With the recognizable pose it was standing with, it was not hard to guess who it was.

"We're going to Jesus?" The orange banded turtle's voice was bubbly and high pitched. He asked with such a big grin; glad that he could make a cheap joke.

"It's a tourist hot-spot, but once you get past that, hide in the Tijuca National forest. Again, tourists but they only follow specific routes and the park rangers check the park at sunset because the wildcats come out only at night." She continued without hesitation. This was a mother they were speaking to. A mother of sons as well. She's been through the ropes.

"Good thing Jesus will be there. Fighting pumas and cougars and tigers…" Mikey whispered to himself exclusively. Wielding off big cats, although awesome, was not something he particularly looked forward to. He then let his mind be carried away, daydreaming about possibly waking up with a lion chewing on his leg like a piece of chicken. Stay close to Raphael. He's slower at a run, so they'll pick him off first. That and there should be more than enough for those cats to feast off of.

"I wish you best of luck." The pilot saluted and jiggled on the door to open it.

"How come you can't stay with us? Wouldn't that be easier?" Donatello asked, standing and with a hand raised. She stopped short under the doorway.

"My son is recently out of surgery." The officer's predicament sent a wave of uncomfortable shifting and sympathy. Yet, she delivered much like a mother in order to keep the teens from feeling out of line for asking. "I'll be about the airport to make it seem normal. I will check this compartment before I take off to insure you've left."

"Thanks, Officer Warren." Mona Lisa bowed. The officer gave her a nod from her respect and descended from the plane's staircase.

The light from the sunshine was missing in the place of an enlarged moon. Everyone was anxious to leave but not so much as Michelangelo. After numerous "what time is it?" 's, Donatello quieted him by adding a countdown for an hour to keep him in the loop from his shoulder cams. Meanwhile, the family spent their time to stretch and prepare for their night. After being stuck in a small aircraft for so long, 6-plus foot teens need to get their blood flowing before going on investigations. The time did not come soon enough when Donatello announced that their time was up. In single file, each mutant emerged from the plane and settled underneath it until each one was off. After Donatello got off, they ran towards the shadow of the nearby forest in seek of refuge. The purple clad turtle began to track their position. The other mutants tried desperately to find a better view after the glimpses of colored lights drew them in. Finally, the planes and buildings gave way to Brazil's true beauty. The airport was on a hill that looked down upon a colorfully lit town. Colored lights brightened the sands that touched the moonlit graced waves.

"Can you say 'paradise'?" Venus exclaimed. Her lime eyes could not be deceived. Seeing New York for the first time was amazing, but now bright lights on nature? No contest. It was absolutely magnificent. She turned to flash a quick and assuring smile to whoever was behind her. It just happened to be caught her gaze and smiled back. In a blink, she looked out to the scenery.

"Sure could!" Michelangelo pushed his way up to her side. "Where my Brazilian girls at?" He pretended to lick his hand and smooth his 'hair' back in order to prepare himself for the 'female hype' always talked about in Rio.

"In your dreams." Mona lay her forearm and her head on his shoulder. "Come on, Mikey, we need to stay on topic." She lifted herself on him and playfully tapped him on his arm. "Where's the lab?" Her question directed more towards Donatello.

"The coordinates are searching… searching…" He kept his neck craned down on his tablet. "Ok, we need to move west. We'll pass a few factories on the way there. Surveillance assured."

"Travel by rooftop." Raphael nodded.

"I cannot calibrate whether or not the buildings will actually be close enough together to jump…"

"So until then, we travel underground." Leonardo finished, bringing the group together in a collective circle around him.

"Aw man! I did not come to to see tropical sewers!" The orange clad turtle whined, throwing his arms in the air.  
"We also didn't come here to scope out Brazilian women." Donnie raised a brow as well as a knowing smile.

"Right…."

The family burrowed up from the underground Donnie's guidance, finding 'Laboratório de Biomecânica TCRI' was not too hard. There was barely anyone out on the streets and the manhole that they entered through was just outside the main section of the city. The drain that led up to the silver room was incredibly large that it was a size they'd never seen. It took Raphael and Donatello to hold it up high enough for everybody to filter through. Then when they were above, all four of them lifted it up higher for the bigger members of the pack to crawl out of.

Donatello wasted no time checking his tablet yo look at the facilities even though he was in a large scale lab. There was no time to lose (and he'll check it out as they go). The family, however, formed an involuntary circle around him as they scoped out the landscape and high walls.

"Stay frosty. More than likely there's different types of alarm systems." Leonardo warned. The announcement sent pairs of eyes scanning the floor beneath them out of caution.

"There sure are." Donatello pressed on his tablet and the cameras on his shoulder presented a hologram of what he was viewing. He put his device aside and messed with the graph before him. The grid was green and there were blue boxes and red dots scattered on it as he roamed around it. "My computer should be able to detect them, but tread carefully."

"Gotcha." Michelangelo whispered, winking with both of his thumbs up. "Stealth mode." he spoke through the depths of his throat. An added "twinkly" fingers and descend into the background were definitely necessary. Mona, the body of the background, overlooked him. Her shoulder rolled forward to be more comfortable and "push" the young turtle to the back before beginning to wander around.

The facilities were dull and colorless. However someone could be happy with the chrome and bright lights was beyond the lady turtle, but she guessed the science conducted underneath it was intriguing enough. There were no lights but the faint ones coming from small or blinking lights from machines and terrariums of plants. In all honesty, they had no idea where they were going. With all the lights off, the lab was definitely closed for the night but they knew better. Donnie's room when dark or late at night did not mean he wasn't in there working. It can't be too different from these professional scientists. Heads were on a swivel; one hand on the side of their hips as they tiptoed, following Leonardo and Donatello in the front of the pack. Donnie's sole purpose was to make sure no one tripped up while Leonardo covered him for his head was continuously down.

With every few steps, a mutant swept across the floor to hide behind a structure. Hiding was a little harder considering that their machinery was an awkward size in which it was too short (causing one to crouch) or thin that the one behind it felt awkward and exposed. With each beep or industrial noise that sounded out of nowhere did not help calm them any more when they were caught in such positions. Covering a single floor took too long for one to count the amount of hasty steps and hitched breaths. At the moment, Michelangelo was gliding over behind Leonardo. The leader was disbanded from Donatello's side and was hiding behind a wall. The rest of the family hid on other spots behind him, watching his back and sides as his muzzle peeked out from the side of the wall. His youngest brother was close, pressing himself onto his side with a hand cupping a side of his mouth and forcing his lips very close to the leader's ear.

"How long you think we're going to be doing this?" Barely could the blue banded turtle understand it but it was unacceptable ( and his hot breath so close made him shake from the awkwardness). Leo put a large hand over his mouth, scowling at the young terrapin when shaking his head. The leader removed it, but then the turtle shrugged quite confused. Leonardo put a finger up and reached for his pocket. The bright light of the phone was masked by his other hand and was dulled down by its settings as he kept the light close to his body. Michelangelo, who was sparked by the idea, hastily reached for his pocket and brought out his phone. His fingers typed away and as soon as he was done, he turned it off to make sure the little light left on it won't be seen by someone who may be around. Then, there was a tone that echoed and haunted the walls of the facility. Everyone's subtle gasps could be heard for they feared they had been caught. It was when Michelangelo, who cringed. He picked up his phone and read the message sent to him and others in the group from Leo. With guilt and a single eye, he read: " _No one makes a sound. Communicate through text."_ After he read his orders, Mikey tried to lighten the mood by making a comical frown, pointing at the phone and nodded. He looked up to see Leonardo, but he was all but unamused by his younger brother's incompetence. Seeing his look of disappointment, Michelangelo nodded for one last time and proceeded to turn his phone's sound off like everyone else. Just when he was done, he received a text through the chat.

" _Why is ur freakin phone on?!"_ from Raph. Mikey thought up quickly and began to type furiously. The rest of the group got it when he sent : " _Because I wanna get caught!"_ Raphael peeked his head out from the desk he was behind. When Mikey saw him, he shrugged sarcastically with a "duh!" expression. The larger turtle shook his head and descended back behind the desk.

Leonardo began typing again, doing so with both his head and phone peeking behind the wall.

" _Floor's clear. Traps anywhere?"_

" _None from where we are."_ In came another text from Donatello. " _Go forward and make a left at the Synthesizers."_

" _What is a Synthesizer exactly?"_

" _A what?"~ Mona_

" _Is it that the thing with the claw?"~Leonardo_

" _No. It's the station next to it."~Donnie_

" _The thing in front of me?"~ Venus_

" _That's used for nanotechnology."~ Donnie_

" _I THOUGHT THIS WAS A BIOLOGY LAB!"~ Mikey_

" _Just follow me!"~Donnie_

The purple banded turtle emerged from his hiding spot and walked on in the front. They noticed he carried a somewhat irritated tension while he moved. Was it their fault they did not know what he was talking about? The blank floors were now covered in 6 foot shadows as they moved in Donatello's direction.

" _What happens if we do not find him?" ~Venus_

" _We try again at an earlier time."~ Leonardo_

When he sent it, something nearby vanished between stations. Leonardo was quick to look up when the black shadow disappeared and light showed in it's place. A sudden jerk of his head alarmed Raphael who was right behind him and halted the followers behind him. The others were oblivious to what happened and believed they were just stopping out of precaution. Raphael couldn't tell what was wrong, but the way Leo put an arm up and dipped his head low, it meant something. He hoped his head position would help him hear. His breathing stopped just to hear distorted footsteps. Following the sound, he slipped between the machines and saw a shadow turn to the right towards the exit. The chase was on.

Without hesitation, the leader bolted off. Raphael felt only the incoming of air he left behind as his brother took off. Getting a feeling in his gut, the red banded turtle slipped between the machines and followed.

"Hey! You! Stop!" The group left behind was stunned when they heard their leader scream after almost an hour of silence. It seemed like five seconds was a while until their collective, blank stares pushed them to run after them. Leonardo was in hot pursuit. He couldn't tell exactly where the shadow was. When he lost its trail, he took the time to stop and try to listen. It was hard over the pounding in his ears and Raphael following up behind him. His sais were out, but he did not know the reason why. Not too long, four more mutants came running by his side. "Something's running." was all he could let out.

"You could have sent that through the group chat!" Michelangelo yelled. Raphael, violently, grabbed his brother by the chest and gagged him with his hand. How stupid of it was for him to shout out and tell the thing of their distance? He picked him up off his feet so pushing him down on the ground would be easier. Mona and Venus stepped over the brawling brothers. They knew Raphael was mad but now was not the time to act childish and fight. Now, they needed to track down that shadow and quick. Leo crouched down to breath and keep the sound of his breath away from the two girls. The lizard girl stuck her nose in the air to listen for feet as a way to filter out the noise underneath and behind her.

"I got movement!" Donatello family turned (even Raphael who was holding Michelangelo in a headlock) to see him with his goggles infrared, a human heat source was tip toeing and checking behind itself every few steps. When Donnie called, the person began to run again. That was all Leonardo needed to start sprinting in the direction in which Donatello was facing. Venus was right behind him with Mona beside her, then gaining more ground than the turtle. Raphael pushed the young terrapin aside and gave chase. Stumbling, Mikey followed. Leo not dared to unsheathe his katana because the slight turn will indeed slow him down when he was so close. The shadow kept turning, so when he could see a lick of him, it would disappear. He couldn't afford losing this person. Not only would they be tipped off that something is after them, but they could be a crucial piece of evidence in their case. From this point, there was no distinction from the sound of feet coming from the shadow or his team behind him. Only instinct drove him forward and would also lead him right into the path of the runner.

"Leo!" He could barely hear Donatello through his pounding heart.

" **Leo!** " That was the sound of the entire family. He was so close, but with their screams he began to slow to a trot. When he turned around, something was rushing after him. His skin crawled until he was grabbed from behind. The terrapin was ready to fight when he saw that it was Mona. Both of their heavy breathing kept them from speaking as he looked into her dark eyes with shock. Instead of talking, she pointed to the ground. Leo glared down and saw nothing in front of him. He stared at her with confusion and anger that she stopped him. Soon, Donatello caught up and brought up a hologram from his tablet.

"You're running into a restricted area." He showed him the screen. Instead of little red dots, the entirety of the floor was red. "Lasers; to set off an alarm." he further explained.

"The shadow just ran through there. Can't there be a glitch on your end?" He asked, distraught and irritated.

Soon, bright red flashing lights and loud alarming sounds showed their presence in extremity. A once dark room was now lit up with light and haunting sounds.

"I… DID NOT… DO IT!" Michelangelo made it all clear with enunciation and outrageous movements to ensure no one tries to chew him out or beat him down for such events to take place. Everybody blames him; not this time. Leonardo growled and ordered:

"Clear out!" He yelled over the alarms. Not only the feds will show up, but there could be a camera activation. They did not need that. The family began to sprint towards the direction they had walked into. All except for Michelangelo.

"Mikey, the other way!" Venus shouted. The young turtle realized his mistake over the confusion and followed his family towards the exit, huffing and puffing.


	6. You Missed Out

"We were this close!" Leonardo exclaimed. "This close!" He demonstrated this feat to Donatello by showing a pinch of his fingers. The purple turtle was too busy laying out blankets and sleeping bags from his pack to create the family's nest, but he could see it from the corner of his eye and acknowledged it.

"Yeah, well…" there was nothing he could think of to make his brother feel better about the situation. After being forced to leave the laboratory, the mutants spent more than an hour finding a suitable spot in the forest outside of the tourist-zone. The trek was not only upsetting due to their failure and Michelangelo shining the light somewhere else whenever he heard a noise. They had to admit though, they did little faint arm-grabs and sashays every now and then when he swore he heard a "puma" or "sasquatch". When they finally settled (mostly due to fatigue), the family immediately set up camp. A portable light lit up a twenty-foot radius around it, providing adequate light in the pitch-black forest.

"Don't get too hung up on this." Mona Lisa spoke in his place after noticing his struggles. She had her hair untied and her mask off hanging on a short limb. Until for sure no one was in front of her, she flipped her long brown locks forward and began to work on them by braiding it and twisting it into a messy bun. "Repercussions aside, I'm sure we'll have better luck tomorrow." After putting her hair up, she rummaged through her bag and grabbed her black hoodie. The jacket was slipped over her head, pulling some of her baby hairs out, making her messy bun messier. Next, she found her pair of purple and white mens basketball shorts. There was of course pajama pants in her case, but with these high 70 degree temperatures at night, better not. She took them away from the light as she kept her distance away to change into them in the darkness. The family kept their eyes away from her and onto their campsite.

"So, who was that?" Mikey asked, throwing his necklaces aside his nunchucks on the ground as he too prepared for bed.

"We weren't close enough to see." Raphael spoke, throwing more blankets from his pack into their pile. "But whoever it is, they know we're onto them."

The oldest of them all was on the phone a distance away from the clan. He was slowly pacing, taking four steps at a time before turning back around.

"Please put me to Chief Vincent." He asked. By that simple statement, they could tell that he was phoning the station. They carried on setting camp as he spoke. "I'd assume, but tell her this is Leonardo. Yes, that one. Thank you." There was a momentary pause. Until they could direct him to Vincent, a lowly leaf on a branch caught his eye. He rubbed it between his fingers, feeling its smooth surface until its secretions stuck to his fingertips. "Chief. Yeah, we investigated the place…" The rest could not understand what was being said on the other end, but they recognized the voice if the Chief. She was neither angry nor satisfied. "no, an alarm set off and we had to leave. We did find someone but it was a shadow. We couldn't catch it." Another pause. "Really? What'd they say?" He became suddenly optimistic. Then, he turned to his family. His facial expressions were strained as he glared and snapped at them vigorously without saying a word. Not one could decipher what he wanted to do. " Aj Ruffington, ports nearby Estação Aquaviária most likely." He pointed again after enunciating the words for some weird reason. An 'ah ha!' moment came over Donatello and he quickly typed down what Leonardo said. Mona had just returned fully changed but not yet caught on to the commotion. "Uh huh, and Cha Ocho North in São Cristóvão." He pointed again, but his smartest brother was already on the case, giving him a thumbs up to assure him as he finished up typing. "Thanks for the tips, we'll get to them in the morning." Pause. "We just landed and the family is lagged. We're camped out just outside the city in a jungle." He paused again, but after a few seconds of listening to her, his lips curled down in a sarcastic frown. A single brow rose. "C'mon, who would win, the jaguar or one of us?" He chuckled lightly. "Alright, Vincent. I'll update more as it develops. Thank you, goodbye." Leonardo pressed the end button and slipped his shell-cell back into his pocket. He couldn't make of it, but everyone in the camp watched him silently and still, waiting for him to speak. His eyes were out of their gaze as he unstrapped his katana sheaths from his chest. Irritated that he was "ignoring" them, Michelangelo belted out, breaking the awkward silence.

"What- was-this-all about?" He made a stiff dance with his arms twisted and jerked in numerous contortions; His voice shrill and dry as he slithered beside his eldest brother. He did not appreciate that sly curl of his lips that dismissed his distress. Leo put an arm down on their pile and slowly lowered himself until he was sitting atop the mass of blankets.

"She talked with the Río police about an investigative report. They believe we can find answers through Aj Ruffington and Cha Ocho. Ruffington is a weapons dealer." He began to direct with an finger. "Raph, Venus, and Mikey will meet him at the ports. Donnie, Mona, and I will investigate Cha Ocho. He's often had run ins with the law and is linked to Stockman as a cousin of some sort. It'd be best if we checked him." The latter gave a single nod or showed no opposition, all but one.

"How come they can't check it out?" Michelangelo whined. Falling in a dramatic, rolling feature, unlike his brother, the young turtle rolled onto his shell while pouting towards his brother. "They're the police." In all respect, Michelangelo would not mind lending a hand in helping, but this jungle had him spooked and he was **not** up for staying any longer than he had to. It was only a tactic to hopefully go home tomorrow (that's unless they can hit the beaches in the morning).

"Yeah," Venus butted in; Her own straps had fallen and tossed into their own individual pile of her garments. "but they have to worry about outbreaks of violence at Carnaval." Point made.

"There was also no evidence of a crime committed," Leonardo finished. "so it would not be worth their time if they come up with nothing. We're the best option for this job." He spoke with such promise. The words were meant to be inspirational, Michelangelo wasn't having it for taking a blanket by its corner and rolling into a giant burrito while groaning. Then, his sadness turned into shock with his eyes opened wide. Surely, his blue eyes doubled in size.

"I'm so comfy and I gotta pee!" He squealed as he slowly unrolled himself. At the end of the blanket, he scrambled to his feet and sprinted off into the dark forest. There was no hesitation or thought of wildcats. This boy had to go! The leader dismissed him and rather humored him for his antics brightening up his own mood.

"Does that mean we're still going back to the lab tomorrow." The leader was so content until just becoming embarrassed and hiding his face in the least obvious way. He didn't mean to act so flustered, but he couldn't help it. Venus had popped the question. When she did, her back was turned and in the act of bringing her skirt down. It was innocent enough and everyone knew that she wore spandex underneath that she would walk around in time to time, but with herself being placed quite closely behind him and the surprise of it just made the leader turtle blush all over. Thankfully, neither she or Donatello saw it. But the other two did. Raphael, who enjoyed Leonardo's stunned face so much, tried to stifle his laughter but not his smile. He gave a squeak, which directed Donatello's attention; he was too busy really securing the food for the night to notice. He eyed him suspiciously. Mona Lisa scowled playfully and hit him on the arm with her backhand, ordering him to quiet down. Seeing it as merely nothing, Donatello assumed his former position. The flustered turtle, seeing her about to turn around, burrowed into the blankets. The covers flew partially over his head as he turned it away from her as he tried to control his expressions.

"I don't know." He choked. "Ch-Cha Ocho and Ruffington are first priority over the lab. This time we have actual connections. So, until we get those two, we don't step foot in that lab." He ended more in command, but his facials definitely did not match his tone. Good job, Fearless Leader.

On the other side, Raphael was still trying to keep his laughter in. His body concave in, holding it all in as if he were to vomit out his enjoyment. Mona tried her best to block him out from the rest. Venus would look up every now and then from her and Donatello's actions towards keeping their food safe from the wild animals, but did nothing to investigate. The Lizard lady continuously "shh'd" only for him to hear. The large turtle tried to quiet down to listen to what she had to say. No words escaped her lips, but her expressions and hands spoke just as well. Her brow rose quizzically with them and her finger darting at Leo (who was still hiding his face) and Venus. Raphael was able to quickly comprehend what she meant by this and removed his hand to nod slowly with his smile.

"Oh, no. Nope. Not tonight." She spoke only to him. She began to tiptoe through the blankets. Her words were directed not solely on Leonardo's 'status' but it seemed that Venus was fixing to lay beside him for the night. Nope. Not with big sis on the case. When she sat down beside Leonardo, Raphael shook his head playfully.

"You are no fun." He joked while removing his pads and tossing them away. The red-clad turtle was fixing to be next to her, but Mona was on top of that too.

"You sleep over there." She directed with her finger sassily. The turtle stopped, leaning to one side. Raphael raised his brow, but Mona was not going to allow it. Seeing this, he ruined her plan on purpose by not settling on the other side of Leonardo. He enjoyed another mutant's shocked expression as her mouth was wide open, shocked by the deceit. Raphael was taunting her; he knew fully well she could not make it subtle to force him to go along with her plan. Yet, it was not all a loss when Donatello crawled on the other side of the leader and got underneath his own blanket. The lizard lady smirked with satisfaction. Raphael was smiling, but he waved it off and lay on his stomach, sliding up a couple blankets to make a pillow between his arms. Venus later joined, creating a space for Michelangelo between she and Raphael. Speaking of Michelangelo...

"Everyone! Attention please!" They had almost forgotten about him until he came flailing in like a wild-man into the middle of their blanket pile. Those who were laying down were now erect and curled their legs in so he would not step on them. His large arms were up in an 'announcing' fashion as he turned to eye every single one of them. "I have officially established a 'Pee Tree'. And when I say 'official' I mean ya'll better use it 'cause I'm not trying to accidentally sit on a tree one of ya'll peed on!" He started off so proudly then finished with so much attitude that Angel would be proud. The family calmed down. They'd feared there was something seriously wrong, but it was only Michelangelo exposing his "genius". There were smiles being revisited (even Leonardo).

"Ok." Donatello downplayed his announcement a little, but there was still a sense of support. "Where is it?"

"I tied an old rag around it that I found. It's like…" With his hands on his hips, he did not allow his legs to move as he turned almost 180 degrees in search of the direction he had come from. "Right there," he pointed. The group tried to see where he was pointing, but there was only darkness. "Surrounded by a bunch of bushes."

"Good job, Mikey." Leo spoke warmly, eyes closed as he lay back into his spot.

"Thank you very much!" He felt great that his extra efforts were appreciated and took to it that his spot be filled with his body amongst his family.

"Ey." Raphael tapped him. "You missed it." He chuckled through his blankets.

"What?"

"Nothing." Leonardo was quick to say. His voice was loud enough for them to hear them enough, but it was muffled because his face was down in the covers. He thought the little incident was behind him, but seeing that joyful face on Raphael irked him. The terrapin quieted down.

"I'll tell you later." He whispered into his ear. Michelangelo could not make the connections, but hey, if Raphael will tell him later, whoo hoo! Mona Lisa, lying with her back turned to the stomach-lying turtle, raised her brow and then retired.

 **A/N:**

 **These last two chapters were much of a "late-night" type of writing so forgive me if neither of them appear to be held at the same standards I usually write in.**


	7. Arts

Returning to the "underground amusement park" was not on the top of his list for the day. Of course, he had made numerous visits but it was the first he hadn't a brunette by his side. She promised she'd get there as soon as possible once they were done filming the morning news. So, until then, he was solo and what was worse- the rat was here too. Casey had gotten over the turtles and now created an odd relationship in which he saw them as children he could tolerate one minute then be admiral allies in the fight, but not yet has he gotten over Splinter. No one would know, but the New Yorker had been afraid of rats all is life. As a grown up, he tolerated them and would scoot away smoothly instead of trying to deal with them. When he saw Splinter as big as he was and knew what the old rat could do to him, the idea would not sit right with him. Of course he now knows that the rat was only playing and acted out of self defense, but that was no excuse for his old phobia.

He tried not feeling like a criminal walking around but he couldn't help it. He stayed quiet, praying that the rat wouldn't find him down there before April showed up. What if he could hear him with those big rat ears of his? Maybe the running water acting as the central attraction of the home will drown out any noise he makes? But what if he can _smell_ him? The man lifted a piece of his jacket up to give a quick sniff. He was alright, he guessed. As he tiptoed around, the sound of water quieted and sounds from a room he was coming upon was brought to his attention. It's got to be the rat. To make sure he was in there (better not risk going the other way and run into him), he tried to sneak behind the crane toy just in front of the arch to the other room. The man had his back to the machine, trying his hardest to not accidentally push it back to make noise. Casey's chin lifted up to the sky as he took a silent yet stressful breath. Slowly, he peeked his head past the machine and listened underneath the water noise.

"Try not to remove all the new growth for it is vital for the tree to maintain some. Although meant to be small and trimmed back, growth is also a good thing." Casey could recognize that shaky voice to only one user, but the person next to him was different. She was young but taller than Splinter. Teens for sure. High school, possibly? Her dressing was interesting in comparison to her attentive hand before a small tree. The girl's hand was armed with a pair of opened scissors that scanned the roots of the tree between it.

"Is this new growth?" She asked, turning to look for his approval.

"Is it green?" He replied, smiling. The girl's lips dropped and her eyebrow rose.

"The only new growth I know about is kinky little curls." Casey smiled, suppressing any chuckling from the Chicana's honesty. Her smile returned with a somewhat nervous laugh as she set her eyes back on the tree. Given the response, she moved the scissors further down the root. "This is a safe spot?" She asked once more. The rat closed his eyes and nodded. Yes! Angel celebrated mentally; the snip of the root was undeniably satisfying as she relished in digging up the detached root and throwing it away.

"Are you going to continue standing there, Casey?" That hitched his breath and straightened his posture. The girl had no idea there was a man watching them and had become very interested after throwing the root in a can. Splinter did not even have to look up to guess who it was. It was the _smell_ wasn't it? The man turned about, trying to look innocent as he revealed himself from behind the claw machine. The girl stood behind Splinter with her hands over his shoulders protectively as she scanned the stranger.

"I- uh… I-i-i was just seeing who else was here." He stuttered, feeling completely exposed. His hand attacked the back of his head as he took a few idle steps forward into the room. "April's coming down soon, so…" He trailed off with his eyes, trying not to make eye contact with those beady rat eyes.

"Wait. You're Casey? For real?" The confidence in her voice shook him. Usually he would not be so vulnerable, but being with Splinter was just throwing him off the entire time. Then, there was this strange girl completely comfortable with the rodent and speaking to him like a… well… a teenager. "No disrespect man, but…" She began to snicker and shake her head. Through her eyes, he could tell that she was taking in all of him. "You don't look like the popo; actually you're" Her head cocked to the side, looking down to his shoes " kind'of adorable." Her eyes finally met his with a bright smile. Casey had no idea how to react but to stand there and shift his weight side to side on individual legs. Splinter looked behind himself and flared his clawed hand on top of the girl's.

"Angel, please." He insisted. She nodded and then took a step towards the man. He seemed reluctant to move, so she made all the moves for him with an outstretched hand.

"I'm Angel Bridge. Pretty sure April's talked about me." He took it in a light grip. With a few shakes, he felt himself loosen up before her.

"Sure has." He smiled slightly as he let go. "No disrespect," He folded his arms and began to scan her as well. The girl cocked a brow and checked herself for anything to catch his attention.. Alas, she could not find it. "but you look a little small and cute to be a gang member." He joked.

"Ex-gang member," she corrected him with a pointed finger. "and touchè." Her head lolled back to meet the eyes of the rat master still behind her. The child within her was most intriguing knowing her background. "I like him." She fake whispered in order for everyone to hear her say so. Casey grinned; his hands were in his pockets when he rocked back onto his heels.

"So…" His voice lingered as he cautiously approached their project. His finger danced around in the air, trying to point to the multiple trees in front of them. "What are these?" Angel straightened herself up. The world felt a little shaky and wobbled due to the blood rushing into her head. Before responding, she leaned forward with a hand on her head.

"Bonsai trees. Master Splinter's been teaching me on carin' for them." She answered dizzly. He's heard of those before but could not put his finger on it. The cartoons he used to watch (which kung fu entertainment was still cool), he can recall the name and the little trees used to decorate the scenery.

"Now you're giving them a haircut." He noted as he saw the leftover clippings of twigs and leaves on top of traces of dirt on the table. Splinter approached the tree. As he did, the man's facial expressions began to tense as well as his grip on his folded arms. However, Angel nor Splinter seemed to notice as they watched their tree.

"Yeah, but I ain't the best barber." She make a couple snips in the air defeatedly.

"You're still learning." Splinter reminded her. The chicana flashed him a smile over her shoulder and looked back at the tree she was working on.

"How come Japanese arts have to be so difficult?" A sigh followed as she placed a hand on the pot of the tree. She spun the base slowly, observing it up and down and admiring the little detail engraved in the organism.

"The culture strives for perfection in all their native arts." He explained. Unexpectedly, Casey listened. The rat turned away to his collection that surrounded the room. Some were bigger than others, or more flourished with leaves. Angel pulled up a stool nearby and brought it to her worktable. She took a seat, examining her own tree as he overlooked his own. Casey began to settle beside the table but looked on just as Splinter did. Truly, it was fantastic. By observation, he recognized some of them. These trees were not just one particular breed but common ones he's seen in parks nearby. He gazed in awe. How could it be that a little care and root snipping can create foot tall versions of an organism meant to be stories high and wide. Truly remarkable. "You must admit they are also quite stunning when the art is mastered." Splinter added to no one in particular. Just merely talking out loud. Casey made no audible response, but nodded gingerly behind his back.

"True, but not everybody's perfect." Angel butted in. Both turned to see the chicana. She was slumped forward; her scissored hand pushed up her cheek by her palm, squishing it into her eye as she gazed grumpily.

"No one is, Angel." The rat got behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders. Angel made no acknowledgement of it, but listened. "Not you, not him," Angel looked up when he referred to Casey. The man appeared apprehensive, but was very nonchalant about it. "not even I if you could believe it."

"Splinter…" She groaned, but that earned him a smile from the girl. It was a cheapshot, but the motivation sparked back into her. Angel poked a finger into the dirt of the pot and began to dig into it. Her fingertips dusted away the dirt from the little roots of the plant. Finding her next target, she cleared the dirt away from the root's sides and lined up her scissors to it.

"Watch that one!" He warned. Angel jolted some and turned to him for guidance. He took her by the hand and guided it lower down. "Cut about here to give you some space from the old growth." Angel nodded and followed through. "My boys were never so interested in growing and maintaining other things." Splinter looked up at Casey, asking for his attention. The man felt compelled to catch his gaze but also wished to. With such a fear, he was both afraid and intrigued by his attention. Casey tried to appear interested over being fearful. His clear eyes were sharp underneath his brow as he matched Splinter's gaze. Through those black eyes he saw himself reflecting back, showing him his efforts to be polite as well as him truly facing one of his phobias. "Well, except for that dirty cat Michelangelo once brought in. Raph would rather carve than grow wood."

"I guess if you have to choose between getting ninja skills and growing flowers, I'd choose their route too." Angel butted in as she got up to throw out the root she had freshly snipped off.

"Yet, here you are… growing flowers." He chuckled, bringing his hands together that caused them to disappear in the sleeves of his robe.

"It's interesting and different from all the other things I've been taught." She retaliated wholeheartedly. Angel returned to her workbench and began to smooth the dirt back over the roots strategically. "What we learn is for survival in this world society has created. Most of us don't get to sit back and observe the little things that make life amazing." Splinter nodded in agreement. In her mind, Angel recalled of times where school force fed "essentials" for a thriving society and how they must balance out that time with the amount of education one would have to learn from experience in order to actually flow within society. Too much of either side and one would get left behind on either scholastic or life knowledge.

"That's pretty poetic." Casey answered in astonishment.

"Growin' up in Harlem you can't escape poetry." She grinned as she spun the pot to give it one last look before setting it aside. The pot came towards the man. When she set it, Casey looked over it. The green was lined with the freshly smoothed dirt that was done from the sole responsibility of the colorful girl. Casey grinned and chuckled to himself with utmost warmth.

"Can't argue with that."


	8. Peace and Quiet

Leonardo was up. His eye tried to focus after pressing it against his pillow for nine hours. The surroundings were definitely different. Instead of concrete or walls, he saw green with little specks of color thanks to insects and flowers. As he moved his legs, he noticed that he had kicked the blankets off completely. It was strange for the usual cold he was acclimated to, but just as the evening was it was already high-sixties before the sun could show itself fully. For a turtle, it felt amazing and clearly his subconscious enjoyed the warmth and humidity. For someone who was always an early riser, this one felt more rewardful as he basked in the comfort of the pile. From where his head was turned, Mona was still asleep. Unlike the others whom had shells, she was the only one lying on her back on top of the flat surface. Mouth partially open, head lying on an outstretched arm underneath her pillow as the other "combed" her hairs back from her seemingly unraveling bun she had slept in. From then on, all he could see were heaving shells rising and falling behind her.

The terrapin chose to rise. He grunted as he picked himself off the ground and turned himself around so he could sit up. Leonardo brought in his knees and rubbed his eyes while rubbing his mask in the process.

"So, you're up." The smooth voice came with rustling. It did not excite him, so the turn of his head wasn't too sharp. Venus was coming out of some part of the wilderness. She had a smile that could melt a heart as she rounded a tree. The female terrapin took hold of a lowered branch and dropped her body. Relying completely on the branch, her body swung until it held her with her dragging feet quite playfully. He noticed that she had not yet put on her skirt but assumed that it was due to her milling about. Whatever she was up to, she did not want to get caught. The chains around her could jingle as she crept around, disturbing anything, even a mutant, if she were not careful.

"Where've you been off to?" He asked, smiling back with a slight yawn. Venus brought herself back to her feet and pulled herself against the branch.

"Here." She answered. Her eyes went up, scanning the sky in awe."This jungle is incredibly vibrant. Not a couples steps away do I find native animals scampering away from the site." Venus did so love nature. New York was not the best place for that place in her heart, but exploring a jungle… the girl couldn't help but run off a ways to inspect everything.

"Pretty different from China, huh?"

"Definitely."

"This reminds me of the mornings over there. You know," He placed his hands on his knees and pulled back for support. "minus sleeping outside in a hot jungle. They're here, but since we're the only two awake…" He trailed off reliving the memory. "I miss our mornings at your old home. It was so peaceful." Venus let go of her tree and walked past him. She was close to the circle and tried to keep the obstacles before her quiet so that she can nestle in the spot she had resurrected from. A sleeping Donatello may have been between them, but that didn't stop their conversation. But out of respect for him, she began to whisper over his shell.

"You wake up just as early and this bunch doesn't wake until near afternoon."

"Ah," He sighed, bringing up his pointer finger towards his face. "but it's the continuous quiet that I miss."

"Can't quite argue with that." She snickered.

"Do you guys ever shut up?" A disgruntled and muffled voice asked between them. The turtle's face was in his pillow, hoping to block out the light and noise. Both lowered their heads curiously to make sure the purple turtle did indeed speak.

"Can't. The sky's awake, so I'm awake." Leonardo joked. His brother remained still in annoyance. Maybe if he didn't move, it would go away?

"Why am I stuck between you two?" He muttered again, The female terrapin sympathized him and put her hand on the back of his head. She used her fingertips to graze his cranium both over and under where his bandana remained tied around him. He vibrated against her hand as he let out a soft appreciated, yet annoyed tone.

"You should be up anyways." Leonardo added. The purple clad terrapin shook his head beneath his pillow. What they did not realize was that he was unburying himself. Donatello's eyes remained closed and his lips remained inside his pillow while his chin kept up his head. Venus left him to fully wake at his own pace. The female turtle crawled over his legs, taking care her knees wouldn't assault his own as she crouched over and between her sister and the youngest sibling.

"Rise and shine! Mona! Mikey!" She proud her voice to be loud, but not irritably. Absolutely no one wants to wake up like that then again get motivated to wake up. She knew this by experience. She sounded more like a mother as she leaned in close and placed her hand upon each individual. "Wake up you two." Gently, they were rocked until they blinked a couple of times or made unsatisfactory grunts.

"What time is it?" Mona asked. Her eyes were shut tight as she brought her dull clawed hand to her face and pulled it down. As she brought her head up, her loose bun was very noticeable as the braid slowly tried to slip out of its enlarged knot.

"The sun's out. That's all I know."

"7 a.m." Donatello corrected after checking his phone. The purple clad turtle sat up against the surrounding feet and stretched out his arms.

"No, Me… " Michelangelo shook his head as he looked around. "I wake up when the sun is in the middle of the sky." He then pointed lazily into the seeping light between the trees that was positioned close to the ground. "That's too close to the horizon. Good night!" Hard, he plopped his face back into his pillow.

"Cool with us, but we aren't going to tell you when we're leaving." Leonardo sang as he got to his feet. Instantly, the young turtle brought himself up by the fear of being alone and waking up to a lion chewing on his leg. He moved so quickly that he accidentally hit Venus (she's okay). Mikey sat upright with his knees brought in as he rocked himself.

"I mean it's such a beautiful day. Why sleep through it? Right?" His musical voice matched his lying happiness, that is, until he realized he had gotten up too fast. The young terrapin became lightheaded and hid his face in his hand, waiting for it to go away.

"Mona?" Leonardo gained her attention as she lifted herself up. He had his hand out gingerly towards the being across from them. "Will you do the honors?" She turned to look. There was only one last terrapin down. As the bravest to test the battling brute, Mona would take these offerings as a challenge. The lizard lady wrapped her long braid around its base and back into a tight bun as it was when she fell asleep.

She crawled cautiously until she was over his shell. Coming closer, his usual snoring was apparent as he breathed through his pillow. He was one of those people who occasionally slept face-down. Mona sat herself on top of his shell, paying no mind to how he'd feel about it. Her hands gripped the top rim of his shell and began to slowly rock him.

"Raph! Raph!" The lizard lady yelled. "Come on! Wake up! Let's go!"

"No." He muttered like a child not ready to go to school despite his mother's best wishes. They've noticed the more Mona would try to wake him, he became less aggressive about it. The first time he was a charging rhinoceros, now he's just lying down and hoping she would go away. With no luck, she fully sprawled out on him. With her chin resting on the rim of his shell, she heard him groan.

"We're in Rio to investigate so you have to wake up! Heroes never sleep! Come on!" She had pulled the flap of his do-rag and pulled up the sides of his mask a little to make him hear her. From irritation, he pulled the piece back down. As he did, his eye emerged. The corner of it stared intently at the innocently smiling girl over his back. Then, he grunted again as he pushed himself up.. Mona got off his back so he could sit up and sulk.

"You're childish." Raphael pushed his palms into his eyes and up to his face with a yawn.

"How can I not after Mikey called me old last night." She shot the young one a look with much saltiness. He was already standing with Donatello. The purple clad turtle was opening up the tightly packed food-bag to prep their breakfasts. Of course, Michelangelo was not going to sit out on food. However, his usual happiness towards food was redirected to more saltiness towards his sister.

"Suck it up, I used you as an example." He spoke confidently as Donatello slapped a wrapped poptart into his outstretched hand. She did not retaliate but rather shook it off and stood up from the pile.

"Get up team. You guys have to catch Ruffington." Leo announced.

"But that's when it gets dark again." Mikey spoke between bites. Only a few crumbs escaped his mouth as he did. Everyone else who caught a glimpse of it had to look away. Leonardo stood his ground and began to stride towards him. The closer he got, the more Michelangelo got small. The eldest came face to face to the youngest sibling; everyone anticipated for whatever he was planning to do. Michelangelo was hoping he wasn't going to get all discipline-y so early in the morning. Despite his fears, he saw him look at his hand. Before he could react, the leader snatched the remaining strawberry Poptart out of his hand without any emotion.

"You also need to get there on foot while being undetected in a tourist town. I need you all up and awake so we can work effectively. Take the morning to wake yourselves up and get used to your surroundings. We may be here until tonight or over the week." He took a bite off the corner and stepped off. Michelangelo stood there dumbfounded, but continued to chew.

"I know what I'm doing." Venus de Milo was with Mona as she searched through both of their bags. Already in Mona's hands was her swimsuit, so it was only a good guess Venus was looking for hers. Going almost halfway through her bag, she picked up the lime green and white piece. When found, she flung it over her shell and proceeded to stuff the rest of her things back into her bag. "Catch us at the waterhole nearby." Mona threw up a peace sign and then the two girls walked into the forest until they almost disappeared. While everyone watched to make sure they would be ok, Michelangelo took the time to give himself a smell check. His nose crinkled some until he declared:

"Me too."

Just as she was, the water was very calm. It continued to flow with gentle streams that passed her by. Venus was in equilibrium. Her legs folded over one another and her hands placed in her lap. Nature had gotten the best of her as she stayed underneath the water. The turtle listened to the running water and caught drops that fell from the sky that usually came from the trees depositing something. The pool around her was semi-clear with a natural green tinge. With her surroundings, she felt completely natural and camouflaged for the turtle was in her rightful place beneath the water.

Suddenly, she began to hear a disturbance over the water's surface. Venus opened her eyes and tried to listen in. When she looked up, she saw and heard pairs of green feet entering the water and walking in. The female turtle unraveled her feet and pushed up to breach.

"Hey!" She called, face dropping with water. The ones already in the water was Donatello and Leonardo. Both looked like they wanted to retreat due to her welcome, but stood anyways.

"You don't want any company?" Donnie asked.

"Now?"

"Why? Is it a bad time or-?" Leonardo began before she closed her eyes. The water from her eyelashes dribbled down her face as she turned and dismissed them.

"No, it's alright, I guess." So much for some peace and quiet. Surely, she could get some with Leo and Donnie around, but coming out of the bush, Michelangelo rushed in with his board shorts.

He was surprised that there wasn't a brisk rush from the water, but it made him much happier. As soon as he couldn't touch the bottom, he floated upon his shell and lightly paddled around.

"I just feel gross." He commented as he made good sized circles around them.

"Thanks for putting your grossness into the water before I got out of it." Venus grumbled sarcastically as she watched him go. As he came back to pass her, he stopped and waded beside her.

"Try not to be too overwhelmed by my flawless physique." He joked, rubbing his chest down with his hand. Venus eyed him until he presumed to paddle away.

"So much for some peace and quiet." She uttered. Leonardo, who was wading a couple feet away, heard her remark and nodded.

"Where's Mona?" Donatello called from the bank. Instead of swimming, he sat down in the water until his legs disappeared feet below. He probably didn't with to get his glasses wet.

"She went downstream; said something about a little waterfall she'd seen about that way. I'd go with her but I'm not up for the hike."

"Aw man," Michelangelo stopped. His eyes bugged out of his head. "Raph went down there to get away from everybody." That's right. Raphael did **not** want to be around all this mess. If only she could have gone with him, she thought.

"He's not gonna be a happy camper." Donnie added. His arms made back and forth movements in the water, playing with it as it toppled over his body and back down into the pool. Michelangelo paused. As the thought dawned on him, the idea of it becoming a reality became more enticing to him as he rushed to get out of the water.

"Where are you going?" Leonardo questioned as his youngest brother splashed frantically until he clawed himself out of the bank.

"To watch Raph get upset with someone other than me!" He squealed before wheeling off. "And then ruin his day right after!" His soaked body slapped the ground as he moved and disappeared into the brush. The remaining turtles watched suspiciously and judgmentally.

"Should we go after him?" Donatello suggested. The other two exchanged a look. They both looked defeated and gave a nod to each other before acknowledging the purple clad turtle.

"No."

Downstream, quite far to even hear the water roar, Mona was in the water. Just as she had seen, the little, short waterfall set up a gorgeous atmosphere to relax from their currently bizarre trip. She held her breath and brought her head underneath the surface. A few strokes in, she let the few yet firm drops of water hit her back, massaging it as she stayed there. Meanwhile, on the surface, an intruder was approaching.

The spot looked nice, not to mention far away. With the absence of any eyes, the turtle made the decision to ditch the swim trunks, just like how he had bathed for 15 years. What he didn't know was that the lizard lady had just breached from the water. As she wiped the water from her eyes and quietly snorted it out of her nose, she saw him. He had his back turned to the water, but it was clear as to what he was doing as he untied the drawstring and gripped the top of his shorts to pull them down.

"What are you doing?" She surprised him before he pulled too far down. The suddenness made the terrapin jump and spin while yanking his pants up.

"Mona!" He said in surprise. "i'm just… Takin a bath."

"Go." Her fingertips pushed up water as her hand flicked him away. For a moment, he looked like he was thinking until he shook his head. "Yes!"

"No, I'm hot and filthy and I didn't come up here for nothing. You can stay or you can go." He stood his ground, but his shaky voice didn't match his intentions.

"Well I'm not leaving, I was here first." Now she stood her ground. Raphael could only shrug his shoulders with a look that spoke 'what are ya gonna do?'.

"Suit yourself." He added sarcastically. Mona dipped down some to allow a small amount of water into her mouth before she spurted it towards him, showing him her dismay. The brute shrugged. Then, he jumped right in. Mona was a good distance away from the splash zone and rather ignored him for the time being. Her mind was elsewhere, looking to play with the little drops from the waterfall. Meanwhile, the terrapin was careening underwater, looking to the falls for some fun. He popped up on the opposition side of the falls where the lizard lady was. His rise caused rapid movements of water filling up the hole he created. The turtle laughed in delight of the water; Shaking his head to remove the water, the tails of his mask stuck to his face as they acted as adhesive to his chin and neck.

"It's gorgeous!" The red banded terrapin tried to crack a smile of her own with his. Instead, between the falls, Mona's upset stares were met. Then, she slid further behind the falls. What he saw was the girl looking in his direction, but not catching his eyes. "What are looking at?" He covered his groin with his hand. It didn't look like she was looking there, but he did it as a reflex while his furthest hand peeled the tails of his mask off of his face and neck.

"You looked first." She defended. Raphael appeared dumbfounded and replied back sarcastically.

"Yeah, I looked."

"So I looked too, alright?" She was being so defensive. The terrapin got a glazed look in his eye and cocked his head to the side in wonder. Mona felt nervous as he waded over to her direction, completely unsure of his motives. "Come near me, I'll kill you." She warned with a finger that tried to create space.

"So nervous." He answered, but he stopped moving.

"Shouldn't I be?" The lizard girl asked behind her as she began to tread away from him. He knew what she meant and felt unfair for not addressing it sooner and confusing her.

"Nobody's behind me. They stayed downstream." He whispered. She spun around when she was a good length away. Her long brown hair encircled her as she turned and then slowly lashed out when it came out of it in the water.

"They're with V?"

"I don't know." He mumbled. Then his guilty expression vanished. "Wait. You're the one who almost gave it away to them!" He exclaimed accusatorily.

"I wish I did!" She exclaimed. Shortly after, her head tilted back along with rolling eyes. The lizard girl let out a frustrated growl before proceeding. "When can we tell them? I feel sneaky about all this." Her body followed her head as she dipped her torso in the water. Just the surface of her face remained untouched by the water as she began to wade around. Hushed, the pounding of the waterfall was muffled underneath.

"You're a ninja, right?" He took the chance to float over her. She felt the water rush off the streamline of her body and his pedaling legs tapping hers. She opened her eyes and looked down to see the red banded turtle smiling as he swam over her. Mona stood up and held the terrapin back with an outstretched arm.

"Not the same thing." He tried to come closer to her, but her arm gave no slack. "I feel like our family has a right to know about these things."

"You don't I think I feel the same?" He retaliated. Mona let her arm down.

"Then, what's keeping you?"

"I don't feel comfortable yet about telling them," Raphael reached for her hands and took them within his large grasp. "just how I wasn't comfortable telling you."

"You did eventually." She added, looking at the ripples of the water as it passed between them.

"Yeah, but it'll take time."

"I'll wait for the day." She agreed, but only for a short amount of time. Soon, they'll know and it better be by Raphael. Both of them stood there silently. The sun was hitting their shoulders hard with its warmth. Being the animals they are, it was extremely amazing in addition to being submerged in warm waters. "Do we still have to whisper out here." She shifted, eyeing him lazily with a smile. He couldn't resist and pulled her closer to him.

"Since a lot of time passed," he spoke innocently with a type of song his his voice. Mona giggled as he came closer to her "I guess we have a moment to talk out loud."

"AHHHH!" The sudden sound broke them apart from one another as they looked up at the source. Just twenty feet above, there was a small cliff that was easily accessible. So easily accessible that Michelangelo would run off of it from where he came from and continued to scream. The two of them watched as he yelled and brought his legs up to his chest as he cannonballed twenty feet away from them. They were in the splash zone, shielding their eyes with their arms. What was left of him was a dip in the water and white, foaming bubbles surrounding it. Raphael turned back to Mona. His expression was quite bummed.

"And now that moment's gone." He spoke in monotone. Mona groaned and swam away from him and back to her waterfall before Michelangelo could see. Both watched the young turtle with the utmost hatred as he submerged from the water and gave a loud "Whoo!" for the rush and knowing he messed up his brother's morning of silence.


	9. What If?

Leonardo was right. Moving through a bustling state undetected when you were completely unfamiliar with your surroundings was tough business. From where they were located, they have to make a straight line into Santa Teresa and to the end of Centro. This was a task to be dealt with by Raphael (The big one), Michelangelo (most likely to be seen or come close to it) and Venus (their babysitter pretty much). The jungle was much easier than they could imagine. Now in a dominantly green setting, hiding and crouching from tourists was just a warmup to dodging the people of the city. In some parts, tall buildings were close together. This was just enough for spurts of a rooftop run. However, when they hit a very small building or a break for a crossing, there was a combination of travelling underground or making the bold choice to make a run for it in the darkest of alleys. If it wasn't for the GPS in their shell phones, they would most likely hit Copacabana.

By the time they got there, the sun was well set beneath the waves. They were coming in from below as they hoisted the manhole cover over their heads. Michelangelo popped up beside Raphael and began to read.

"Esta... ka..o...ção Aq...aquavi…" he squinted his eyes as he tried to read the foreign sign.

"Aquaviária." Raphael jumped in. Venus checked behind them and gave them an "ok" to come out. The red banded turtle slid the cover aside and the three terrapins crawled out of the depths.

"Oh, I'm sorry I missed that episode of Dora the Explorer." Michelangelo spat sassily as his brother pushed the cover over with his leg. When he looked up, Mikey had his lip stuck out in a pout and his hands on his hips.

"Well, don't hurt ya head" he gave him two pats on top, in which the young terrapin cringed in anticipation. "cause Leo said that both our targets speak English so don't fall for their Portuguese."

"I thought they spoke Spanish!" He exclaimed. Venus violently put her hand over his mouth to quiet him. When he looked to his side, she scowled. Letting go, the youngest terrapin shook himself off and followed but yet the thought still pondered in his mind.

Only a single lamppost glowed bright near the roof they took refuge on. They waited by the sea, looking up and down the strip for any boat or anyone coming to meet it.

"Ruffington will mostly try to appear here for a short time period," The two took their gazes to the pier and the strip, on alert. "so we need to execute immediately and accordingly." Venus took a spot along the border of the roof and sat down to hide herself as she looked directly below.

"Look at that! The blue banded turtle is taking command." Mikey's delivery was formulaic, coming out as generic praise. "I like that. You know who else is a blue banded turtle who takes command? I so look up to that guy, Leonardo. Don't you, Raph?" He nudged his brother who sat a couple feet away.

"Not now." He pushed him off and resumed to watch with his arms crossed over one another, placing his head on top of them. Alas, Michelangelo is not the easiest to get rid of. He didn't touch him, but his words were far more irritating.

"But she totally embodies him right now!" He began to count his fingers with reasons. "Smart, respective and intrigued by Asian culture, likes the color blue..." the orange clad terrapin looked up to see if the turtle girl was impressed. However, she was too busy conducting her mission, just as his brother is. She heard him sigh elaborately.

"I get it. Mission first. You're very focused and disciplined." Pause. "Just like Leo. I can see why **you** took him to China. I gotta say, if I had Leo's discipline, I'd be a much better person. And to think he will do **anything** for the well-being of the one's he loves. Man!" He leaned against the small wall of the roof, crossing his arms as he 'imagined' how great his brother was. "I sure hope one day he can find someone particularly special to protect and share all that he is." He looked over to see how impressed Venus must be after talking him up. The female turtle was still keeping her eyes out for their target. Mikey became less encouraged yet quickly blurted out: "But sadly, he is just a mutant turtle. Only so few relationships can be made, so just like us all he has to make the most of who he knows and loves. I think he's into girls who keep to themselves yet still have their own grind. Not many out there, but I definitely know my **sisters** fit that bill." That was when he got some attention from a turtle, but not from the one he wanted

Raphael grabbed him by the mask-tails and yanked him to him. The young turtle yelped until he found himself looking up at his older brother while lying in his lap. The dark shade from under his head added a menacing touch to his scold.

"Dude, shut up." He whispered harshly. The youngest terrapin sat up. Disgusted, he made sure his brother watched him dust himself off distastefully.

"I'm the wingman. You're his…" His lips pursed as he thought of a name. "right now you're just his tail feathers." he explained with lethargy.

"And I'm directing you away from a place where you mess up everything." Mikey dismissed his brother's accusations. Smiling, he nodded towards Venus' direction.

"See how she's been quiet and stuff." Indeed she was. Not one word or acknowledgement was made since they got up there. Then again, she did say that her stealth mode seemed to block people put until she needed to speak with them. Yes, it was something she needed to work on, but when she zoned out of it all she heard was Raphael telling him to be quiet, so it wasn't anything important she needed to know.

"Yeah, because she's doing what she's supposed to do, unlike you."

"I think she knows we got her." He whispered. On his face, there was a devious and suspicious look. His index finger was placed in between his teeth. They bit against his nail and fingertip as he watched the female turtle. "Look. Quiet, not showing her face or any emotion."

"Maybe she doesn't want to listen." Raphael answered annoyed, looking over the roof in an opposite direction.

"I haven't heard her retaliate yet." He sang. "Man, what if she's already with him and they keeping it on the down low." Raphael tensed up. Not from anger, but from shock. Michelangelo was too far gone to even noticed his pursed expression as he glanced over the roof before slumping once more with his arms crossing his chest. "Then again, you'd think our boy would've told us." Just to think. What if Leo was holding out on them? Seems unlikely, but what if he did? Get your girl and run with those tips his younger brother gave to him for free. Turtle should have charged him. The disrespect, Michelangelo pondered. Raphael was playing with his lower lip, hand fiddling with his thumb.

"Maybe he's waiting for the right time or something?" Mikey turned to look at him incredulously. In all honesty, Raphael wished he hadn't said something, but whatever it was, something inside him obligated him to speak.

"What do you mean 'right time'?" The orange clad terrapin whispered sassily. With secrets and talk about one another's relationship, especially a relationship that may be happening to someone else in the area, he tried his best to keep quiet from Venus' ears. "What is the 'right time'?"

"What if he's afraid everyone's going to reject them; say that it's not gonna work. Maybe it'll shock Splinter and fear the worst if anybody knew about them. The right time is when everyone is happy or celebrating something; just a time where everyone is in a good mood. That way you're less likely to get negative reviews." His delivery was fluid and concise, as he wanted it to be for his brother to understand. Michelangelo stared down at their feet. His delayed response built up a level of discomfort in the large brute as he waited. It was unlike him to speak in such a manner that the potential criticism made him uncomfortable.

"You sound like you were prepared for that speech." He snickered jokingly. For a minute, Raphael sat perfectly still. This was hitting a little too close. In order to keep that off of him, the older brother softened up some.

"I have my moments." He smiled. Then, he gave his brother a good nudge. "Now stop talking and be a ninja, good?" There was no audible agreement to this notion, but was notified by a matching, joyful appearance as Michelangelo began to look out and participate in the mission at hand.

"I'd be so ticked off if he didn't tell us. I don't care, you don't keep that from your bros, can I get an Amen?" There was a silence between them. Michelangelo thought nothing of it for he was sometimes rejected of his "fist-bumps" and such. The brute's face had dropped, but it was turned away so no one could see. But, there was someone who could sense it.

The second Michelangelo began talking about Leo and Venus being together behind their backs (she couldn't hear them but it was at that time), a severe shift in Raphael's demeanor changed. From what she felt, it was heart-racing on high alert. Something was wrong, but she'd rather wait for them to stop speaking to address it.

"Are you ok, Raphael?" He jumped at the sound of her voice; they hadn't heard it since. When he turned, the turtle appeared spooked and upset. Venus was confirmed, but it could be because of the jumpscare.

"Huh?" He asked blankly. The female terrapin shook her head and looked back out.

"Nevermind."

A lot of time had passed since. They've kept remotely quiet with little words here and there talking about what they thought they saw in the water or if Ruffington would look just like his photo on their phones (relayed from the NYPD).

"Hey." Venus' whisper was much quieter than what they were previously communicated with, but it was enough decibels to catch the male terrapin's attentions. She immediately got lower, thus the light from the lampposts no longer outlined her head that was now engulfed in shadow. Both followed her example in alarm and kept silent. Some light highlighted her face, but they saw her nod her head to her right. With as much smoothness as possible, they let only their eyes retouch the light and peeked in the given direction. There came the sound of boots upon the pavement before the three men appeared.

The one closest to the water was their target. He walked in long strides; confident with his boys on the other side. They appeared casual enough, but these ninjas knew better. They were there for a shipment to show up at some time at the docks. Whether or not they were far or close to that destination, they did not know for there were no incoming ships they had seen were nearby.

"Let's go!" Michelangelo sprung up and jumped on the edge of the roof.

"Mikey, no!" Raphael reached out to grab him, but it was too late. With his torso exposed to the light, Michelangelo spun abruptly.

"No?" But it was already too late. He was already falling off the building and the commotion captured the attentions of the three criminals.

It must have been quite the show to watch a 2-300 lb rock fall and bounce against the balcony until he fell through the fabric while screaming.

"Que diabos são esses!" One of them shrieked. He wanted to get really close, but his fear kept him back. Michelangelo sat up and began dusting him shoulders off, groaning and moaning.

"Não apenas ficar lá e olhar bonito! Atire neles! Eles poderiam valer a pena um centavo bonito!" It was Ruffington, and soon the large guns strapped unnoticeably swung down and were lifted up by the men at his side. They pulled the safeties and cocked them. The sound removed Mikey from his own universe and forced him to look up to the barrel of a gun. The men on the side flinched. Ruffington's eyes grew wide in disgust and shock through his glasses when he caught the creature's gaze.

"My bad." He tried to chuckle his way out, but those guns were still locked on him. Suddenly, there was a swooping sound. All of them looked up to see something rolling in the sky. Out of fear, the gunmen began to shoot at it was it came close with the ends of its hands firing up in a blue haze. Unbeknownst to them, it felt like their shots were firing back as they shot at it. The thing landed behind them and took no time to look before she withdrew two paper fans and began to charge at them.

Michelangelo stood up and grabbed one of the gunmen's legs. Having not paid attention to him, he fell forward, gun no longer in hand. On the ground, he tried to get a hand back on his weapon, but a giant foot stepped down on the nozzle. When he looked up, he was meant by a punch to the face that left him out cold on the cement. Meanwhile, Venus was busy playing Superman and scaring the armed man and Ruffington as she charged through the hail of bullets bouncing off her torso. Was it an Ak? A FN SCAR-H? They don't know, they prefer not to use these anyways. All they knew was that they were shooting. That meant a.) they're trying to kill them and b.) that was a bad choice. Closer and closer she got until she grabbed the nozzle of the gun and pulled him forward. As he tripped, the female turtle kneeled down hence forcing him to roll over her back before getting a swift kick to the side before falling. The man caught some serious airtime before hitting the ground hard.

Meanwhile, Ruffington looked on with horror and tried to escape by running from the strange creatures. Before he could get too far, something hit him like a runaway freight train. He thrusted into the man, leading with his dropped shoulder and forced him into the wall of the building. Raphael was careful not to potentially break bone or seriously hurt this guy, but to send a message before proceeding. Ruffington gave an understandable yelp from the force and heaved from the air loss in his lungs.

"Where is Chapelin and Stockman?" He demanded.

"Como!?" His plain blue sweater vest was folded up under his chin as he choked.

"I know you can speak English!" The red clad turtle let some pressure off and the immediately forced him further into the wall. "Where are they?!" He spoke deep and so much through his teeth that he almost spat in the man's face.

"I don't know!" He cried out, glasses slipping off his nose only to be caught on his nostrils.

"You don't know?" He spoke playfully, yet threateningly. Raphael turned his head around to look at his brother and sister. Both watched, taking out the ammo from the guns and throwing it all into the ocean. "You hear that guys, he doesn't know!" The brute smiled at them, but then suddenly wiped that expression clean off and closer to the scarred man's face."Well, since you're not worth much, I guess I can just eat ya." The corner of his mouth rose as he saw Ruffington's already fearing face transform into flushed horror.

"No!" He cried.

"Why not?" The red clad terrapin spoke calmly. It made Venus suspicious enough to stand behind him to ensure such a feat would not be carried out. Michelangelo was left alone on "watch" duty to ensure one of his henchmen did not wake up and slam on them. "You're the weapon's dealer. Cut you out, all the bad guys left short. Better for us people of the law."

"You're no people."

"Which is why this isn't called cannibalism." He cocked his brow. He reached for the side of his hip. The sound of metal being unsheathed kept the man from breathing as he watched a sai come into his point of view. The turtle let him see his tongue slide across his teeth into a sinister smile. "Wanna talk now?"

"Ok! Okay! OK!" Ruffington cried out. "I'll tell you!" He took a second to breathe. Raphael had to admit that it felt good to break a coiffed, intelligent looking criminal rather than a greasy one for once. "I don't know where they are!"

"Tell me!"

"I swear I don't know!" Raphael glared into his horrid eyes.

"It's the truth." Venus assured. Raphael turned his head and nodded in assurance. He released some of the pressure off of him, but it wasn't enough. He wanted something to get a lead off of. The arms dealer's mind raced as he pulled for any information that could free him. "Chapelin wants the statue! It's-." Two shots fired. Both popped into the shoulders of Ruffington. The suddenness made Raphael drop the man to the ground.

"What the?"

"King of Thieves." He whispered hoarsely.

"Say what?" Raphael shouted, but he heard his breath escape from him and his body deflate. Venus and Raphael turned quick to Michelangelo.

"Weren't you supposed to-?" Venus began, but stopped. He looked like 'Spongegar', looking left and right for the source of the bullets.

"That wasn't from them." He did not try to face them but rather stayed on the topic of finding where the bullets came from. Raphael and Venus got a sick feeling and stood shell to shell. Someone was out there, watching. The suspense was killing them as the three of them merged into a single, defensive circle around one another.

"Find it." Raphael ordered. On the count of three, they split up in full steam. It sounded like it came from the pier. Raphael and Venus looked along either side of the bank while Michelangelo charged the pier by himself.

"No one on my side." Venus had her glowing hand outstretched as a light source. With her spot clear, she ran over to Raphael's side. She found him down in the rocks where the waves hit. He was crouched down with the cold water hitting his feet.

"Me neither." Thudding feet came close as they recognized it as Michelangelo's heavy self.

"Dude, like nobody's here. Ya'll find anything?" He puffed, hunching over hands on knees.

"There's no one around." Venus answered sadly.

"What do you mean?" Michelangelo's voice was shrill as his arms went up as he dug his fingers into his head.

"It means they got away." She replied, slightly annoyed. She began to climb back up from the bank. On the sidewalk, she reached out a hand and helped Raph walk up.

"Did Ruffington…?" Mikey began until he looked up to where the gunmen were. His mouth gaped open and as wide as his eyes had gotten. "Ya'll! He's gone!" He yelled. The other terrapind turned around in shock. Both quickened their efforts so that they could see for themselves. Michelangelo was already running towards the spot Ruffington was held up on. A few paces behind, Raphael and Venus sprinted. When they got there, there was nothing to see. All three bodies were gone. All that was left of their existence was the small splash of blood on the wall left by the deceased.

"Did he crawl off?" Michelangelo kneeled down for a closer inspection of the ground. His fingers dusted over the top of the cement, hoping to catch onto something.

"No sign of him either. Somebody done wanted him dead." Raphael sighed. There was no trail of blood or drag.

"Well, they got what they wanted." Venus huffed, looking up to the stars and spun in slow circles.

"And left us with no leads!" The brute yelled, throwing his hands up. Venus gripped him on the shoulders, The turtle stopped moving and allowed her to slink an arm around his neck and stand beside him. He began to calm down with her presence.

"Our best bet is to head back to camp and regroup." Her tone was level and calm. Raphael knew that was the best choice and knew he had to let go of what happened. Venus had his back if Leo had something to say (Mikey too, but I mean who would you rather have you back you up? The girl he likes or the usual screw-up?). With her arm behind him, she used it to guide him towards the direction of camp in the late night. Michelangelo groggily trudged behind them, droopy and whiny.

"I don't wanna face Leo and tell him we failed **another** one of our missions." Mikey trailed behind them, thinking. "Maybe we'll be lucky and they mess up too!" The turtle lit up.

"Mikey? No." Venus shook her head, neither one looking back on him.

"No, wait!" He glitched out, shaking his head and trying to sort out what he really meant to say. "Not like that… ok, rewind, start over…"


	10. Best Distractions

It was dark coming up to Northern São Cristóvão for it was further of a place to travel to in comparison to the other team assigned to take out Ruffington. There was rougher terrain because of their chosen path. The three teens had to endure just as much distraction and light as the other team, but the hills were an added bonus to their venture. Gosh, how they miss flat land. Thankfully, this was the time of day in which they flourished. As shadows of the night, the three mutants dodged and sprinted all the way up to the neighborhood.

It rested upon a hill, their favorite platform. Yellow lights shone through windows and colored curtains that presented the mood of warmth. Despite such a comfortable feel, the street did not match its tone. It was trashy; graffiti on fences and fire hydrants with flickering street lamps that hid shady meetups and conversations. They all observed the neighborhood with caution as they picked their way to travel through the streets due to the people still lingering upon them. Leonardo insisted they traveled by rooftop despite the low coverage. If anything, they would be merely a shadow in the dark due to the moon's illuminance if spotted and could gain a bigger view of the street in order to catch their person.

They were silent, sneaking underneath the still ignited windows of the home they picked to climb. Inside, it was calm for the most part, a great candidate. Mone went first, hopping on top of the wooden awning in their backyard. No assistance was needed, but just a light touch from Donatello eased her up. When it was his turn, Leonardo unconsciously did the same. They took care to step quietly for the wood was not as sound to support them as they had hoped. To actually get on top of the building, there was a window with a plaster sill that could act as a stepping stool. With it being dark, Mona got to the side of it. Her followers merged off as she took a peek inside. The light from the moon was on the other side, showing back to her a pitch black room. The lizard lady took it as an 'ok' as made a jump for it. A small 'umph' escaped her lips when she pulled herself up onto the red terracotta roof. On the very top, she got a reasonable look of how the block looked.

"No paradise up here." The lizard girl commented as she lay atop the roof, stomach down.. Donatello was the next to climb up. He was careful as his eyes kept onto his tablet that he must have brought out while she was pulling herself up. With every bit of balance in his legs (and Leonardo watching below), he got atop the roof with a single arm. When there was enough room underneath him, he used his elbows to help him up all the way.

"This is more of the 'Southside' region of Rìo." He tapped on a button and his shoulder cameras were activated. In doing so, he showed her various tabs he had saved from the internet. It may have been a risky move to have activity on top of the roof. In order to tone it down and help with their concealment, he had the light dimmed enough for them to see and not be flashy to others. Leonardo hoisted himself up in time to take a look at what his brother had pulled up. "According to some of the travel sites, this is the part of Rio where you **shouldn't** be out at night." On the last bit, his voice had gotten deeper and less enunciated into a monotoned buzz. The leader took a seat beside the lounging lizard. She watched him briefly and then resumed looking down at the people.

"It's not like we have hoods like these back home." His sarcasm earned him an agreeing nod from the lizard lady. As bad as this particular one looked, it was not as if they had ones like these in the U.S., or New York for that matter. "Get down, get down." He whispered sharply. At the same time, he pushed the back of Mona's shoulders, forcing her down as he too got on his stomach. The force pushed her face into the roof, which she was not glad about. Donatello dropped as soon as he heard his brother's alarm. He shut off his cameras and followed their position.

"What do-?" Mona was about to ask what he saw until he interrupted.

"Listen." The sound of their breaths were like a ghost. At first, it felt as if their leader was fretting over nothing. That was, until, they heard a laugh from across the street.

With minimal light, they could make out a man sitting underneath a porch with another standing on the sidewalk, appearing to carry a friendly conversation with him.

"Is that him over there?" Leo quizzed.

"Hold on." Donatello took a hand to slip his goggles onto his eyes. Their powerful scopes zoomed in on the man and then brightened the image. Off to the side of the spectacles, a picture of the alleged man remained there until the goggles could make any recognition. Then, there was a green title with 'Match' over the picture. "Identification confirmed." Donatello nodded as he continued to watch Ocho. "He's the dark skinned one with the square face." He pointed him out and described him so they could identify him truly when they were going to be able to see him.

"That was quick." The lizard girl mumbled to herself.

"I need you two to scare away his friends." The leader asked of them, the rest of his plot was still in process.

"There's an alleyway in the back of his house." The purple clad turtle pointed out. Leonardo recollected himself.

"Then Mona, you'll drag him back there." She nodded. On the side of her hip, her hand slipped down to feel the warm chains beside her, checking to see if they were still there (and it's been awhile since she's gotten to use it). "I'll be with Donnie. Be ready."

The two brothers left the roof, leaving Mona so she could keep a better eye on Ocho. They were just as attentive and quiet as they were when they got up there. Leonardo jumped down first, motioning his brother who was just getter by off the awning and in between the two houses. They looked on on the targeted house a little ways down the street. He was still chopping it up with the same man as earlier and was enjoying it.

"How are we going to do this?" Donnie whispered, keeping the wall on his back to take a quick peek at the target. Leonardo kept his head down and looked at the dirt below his feet. In his process of thinking, he drew scribbles and lines with the toe of his shoe.

"You said this was the' south side' right?" Before his younger brother could answer, he looked up with a knowing smile. "You have an amp on you?" Donnie raised a confused brow and patted himself down in search of the desired item.

"Sure." He answered nonchalantly. His brother's deviousness became more apparent.

"And flashing lights?"

Mona had moved position since then. Once on top of the roof, now across the street due to a little running where the street lights never touched the earth. With a little stealth and tip toeing around, the kunoichi was able to evade others in both the light and dark undetected to where she was able to spy on the side of Cha Ocho's home. With the utmost patience, she waited for some type of signal from her brothers in order to capture their man with minimal to no witnesses. Her back was to the wall, practically slouching for they were taking one heck of a time trying to come up with a distraction.

Sirens alarmed, shaking her up so much that she immediately pushed herself away from the wall. Looking out to the streets, everyone else had taken notice. They were still, watching with wide eyes as the white and red colors flashed onto their houses and street.

"(Aw man, what's going on now?!)" one of them yelled, her eyes filled with the blinking lights. She grabbed onto the wrist of her teenaged son who stood as equally still and curious as her. Swiftly, she pushed him inside and gave him strict instruction as she followed him inside their home. Some jogged into their homes in order to anticipate getting caught up in anything. Others scattered, running from what could be their capture.

"(Ya'll get inside!)" They would shout to those seeking refuge all the while knowing better of some and refusing to let them in. These were the ones trying to use the alleyways as escapes.

Ocho had hopped off the porch and wanted to get inside his home. However, he wouldn't. For all reasons she can come up with for him not trying to go inside his house, he stood staring where the intended noise. At the moment, she did not know the guy's intended plan and could not put together why the authority cars were not coming as close as they sounded. And so he stood there, his body turned towards the front door but his head facing the commotion. How long he may stand there, she was not sure. She could not let him try to get into his house. That'd be extra work and coming such a long ways and going back to camp later, she was not going to do that. Keep it easier. With split second thinking, she picked up a small rock beside her and tossed it at his feet. The snapping sound of a skipping rock had failed to catch his attention. In another attempt, she grasped a handful of them, all different sizes from actual rocks to pebbles. The multiple sounds as well as some hitting his shoe averted his eyes from the commotion and to the floor.

She had him, but not for certain. He made no move as he examined the rocks briefly. Mona took another handful and threw them again. Cha Ocho looked down, more surprised than the first time. Curiosity finally began to get the best of him for he stepped towards her direction. Perhaps he believed it was a dog digging around, in which in that case, he needed to shoo it away. Mona's breath hitched into silence. With caution, she clenched her surujin to keep it from jingling as he came around the side of the house. The sirens had stopped, creating more silence between them. His head peeked out from the side. The lizard lady wished she had sunk further back into the shadows, but she kept herself put in order to not be seen. With the darkness still over her, she kicked up the dirt to keep him interested. The scraping sounds her shoe made made the man nervous, yet he came in closer. As his body escaped the lights of the street, Mona had determined that it was time. Briefly, only the faint sound of something swinging whooshed into the air. Suddenly, a chain wrapped around him and pulled him into the dark. The man tried to scream, but something was stuffed in his maw and muffled his terror.

He fell to the dirt face down as his body was dragged along the ground. As much as he wriggled, the chains' hard bodies pressed into him more. Cha didn't know what was going on or who was behind this. He couldn't even see who was pulling him along for not even a silhouette shone through the night. Hearing the slight sound of footsteps and breathing, he was being dragged by a person. Even though he could tell where he was, there was no beacon of light in the alleyway. Whoever was dragging him had stopped. Quietly, he waited for something to happen. The mysterious figure grasped him by the shoulder and sat him in a sitting position against the fence. It continued to remain quiet. He felt as they may be observing him. How that person could see, he'll never know. All he could do was sit silently and wait with every little piece of courage he had. Suddenly, a chill went down his spine as he heard running coming down the alleyway. The steps were hard and labored. They came closer and closer as the multiple scratches of feet became more audible.

"Is that you?" With the runners still a good space away, he could tell that it was the quiet voice of his captor. Was he stolen away by a woman? Seriously? True, then that girl is strong. The runners began to slow down to a shuffling stop as he could make out some figures who were walking.

"Sure is." One spoke with a smooth, airy voice. Between the silence, he heard the clanking of metal and the zippy sound of straps being re-adjusted.

"What'd you do?" Another asked, his voice deeper than the other and more through the throat.

"Threw a rock." She made it sound like it was so easy. Ocho had wished she made it sound like he at least put up a fight. He heard one of them give a small, single clap.

"Fantastic." He whispered enthusiastically.

Before he knew it, the captive was being pulled on by the mouth. He had forgotten that his jaw was unintentionally clamped down on whatever was in his mouth. From texture, it felt like fabric but there was also some other type of component that made it stiff and hard. As she pulled it away from him, he let it go freely. As soon as his mouth was abled, he began to slur:

"O que é isso? Quem é Você? O que você quer?"

"English, Ocho." The smoother, male voice interrupted. "We know you speak it."

"How do you know me?" His tone changed dramatically from terror to a somewhat calm voice.

"Unimportant." The female spoke. As she did, he could hear her struggle through her voice. Behind it, the sound of someone hopping on one leg was distinctive. Was she putting on a shoe or something? Wait a minute... "We're just going to ask you a couple questions."

"Your cooperation will make this go faster." The deep male voice affirmed.

"I have been to jail before." Cha Ocho set himself up better, making himself more comfortable. "They said the same thing and I ended up doing two." He almost fell forward getting that part of his sentence out. He was able to catch himself.

"But this isn't about you." The one speaking took a step closer to him. Ocho's vision was still weak. Unable to make out shapes, he could see slight movements from him. It could be that he was sitting, but this guy was incredibly tall. "We're looking for your cousin."

"Which one?"

"What do you know about Baxter Stockman?" The other male asked.

"Is he in trouble?"

"He is wanted for conspiring with a terrorist." The woman was less than pleased, or more, rather annoyed as she stated it matter-of-factly.

"Look, I know I have not been the best person and my cousin is doing much worse things, but I will not give him up."

"Do you know anything about him or not?" The closer male asked. Obviously, this was the good cop.

"Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you." After that statement, he heard a slight sound of discomfort.

"I hate when they play hard to get." She groaned. Ocho jumped when he felt a hand grab his shoulder again. He was pulled forward towards a point where he could feel the sensation of one's breath. "Either you cough up the information or we'll send a specially wrapped present back to the police." She warned him slowly and clearly for him to have no chance of not getting the picture. "What warrant do you have currently?" Overconfident, no. Well played. Oh, she's good.

There was a sign of struggle in his demeanor, which was admirable. They waited for his answer.

"Everything you're looking for can be found at Christ the Redeemer." He spoke softly and broken.

"Christ the Redeemer?" The deep voiced male asked himself. What the shell could that mean? "Where is Doctor Chapelin and where is Baxter Stockman?" He asked again, but this time expecting a more relevant answer. Cha wasn't giving it all up. Not just yet. He heard him swallow.

"Chapelin- Christ the Redeemer… underground-." Gunshots popped in their direction. Mona was the first one hit. The stinging sensation irritated her arm as she quickly grabbed at it out of shock. They were coming out from their right side. The stinging bullets ricocheted off their mutated skin, but it was not going well for Ocho. Mona squatted down his side, hoping to save him from the assailant. However, he got a few jolts in him. Until the rapid gunfire stopped, she remained there hoping that she was not too late. Both Leonardo and Donatello ran towards its direction, covering their eyes. Suddenly, they heard the sound of car doors slamming immediately after the gunfire had quit. They sprinted down the side of the house, not at all caring about the scraping noises their shells made against the homes as they tried to keep up with the gunmen. Getting through the houses, the streets made the sound of the gas pedal and light brake pressure. Out of the side, Donatello immediately put his goggles on. They were too far down to catch up, but he hoped to get a clear view of the license plate. Alas, the lighting was very insufficient for even his goggles to get a read on them. He tried desperately to get the right lighting on the dial to see clearly, but it had become too late. The car disappeared and was no longer heard on the road. The two mutants kept out on the streets but stayed near the front of where they came because the people were looking outside their windows at the commotion.

Meanwhile, Mona was still in the alleyway playing doctor. Ocho did nothing but whine softly beside her. He had fallen over from impact of the gunshots. The lizard lady did not know much, but keep beside him and check his pulses. Her fingers pressed up against his jawline. It was slow, beating almost to nothing.

"Christ the Redeemer."

"What?" It was subtle, the words in his mouth were. The mutant girl put her ear closer to his mouth. Her long hairs tickled his nose as he whispered such faint words:

"Christ th-..." His hot breath ran along her ear until it faded away. The air against her ear felt particularly chilly as she heard his final breath against her. He lay limp on her. Mona Lisa pushed him along the side of the fence to keep him out of the dirt road of the alleyway.

Leonardo and Donatello were surprised but then settled when their sister caught up with them on the side of the house. She kept her head low, hand holding her shoulder.

"He's dead." She spoke low and drearily. Both of the boys sighed out of frustration and loss. There goes one of their leads.

"Where the shell did those bullets come from?" Leonardo asked, yet he knew that once again he was not going to receive a good answer.

"Somebody really didn't want that information out." Mona tried to joke, but even her tone could not match the "lie" of her words. Donatello lifted his goggles off of his head.

"Or wanted him dead." Sure enough, especially with all those bullets whizzing around with him taking the most hits.

"Either way, we know we're on the right track." The leader picked up the ante in his speech. "The work of Chapelin or Stockman is here." He pointed to the ground, making his point. "Let's head back to camp."

The team nodded and headed back down the alleyway. The people on the block were cautiously prowling on the streets. They could not come to terms how it seemed that the police were coming down their street and had not shown up. It was especially weird that even after the gunshots popping all over that they had still not shown up. With the commotion out there, the mutants in the back had it easier to get to their destination. Where Mona was prior, it was just a short walk to get where the now dead Cha Ocho was. On the way there, they had a conversation about what to do next.

"What do we do with the body?" Donatello had posed.

"Leave it?" She looked to Leonardo with a cocked brow and a confused, unsure expression. The leader shook his head.

"I want to put it out where someone can see it, but I don't want a kid to find him." He sighed. How awful would that have been? They finally got there. Donatello put on his goggles to find the direct location of the body in the pitch dark. They were able to see some due to their natural ability, but it was best not to chance it and accidentally step on a dead guy.

They could not see their team member, but they felt something wrong. His words were inaudible, shocked. The smart turtle whipped his head left and right, looking for their fallen lead.

"He's gone!" His voice choked in disbelief.

"But his heart stopped!" Mona nearly gasped. For sure he was long dead when she left. There was no way!

"They took him!" Donnie concluded. There was some struggle from where the body lay. There was some blood splattered onto the dirt, but there was the toes of shoes and movement where he was. Routinely, they'd follow the footprints if only there was any. Nothing. Nada. How it can be? Someone was really careful to step on the gravel pieces in the back for his goggles could pick up no Dna or other traces that could help them. "Somebody really wanted him." Donatello had to admit, these guys were pretty good.

"Come on!" Leonardo ordered. Before they knew it, the leader stormed off down the alleyway since the people in the streets were still investigating. Donatello removed his goggles and kept alongside Mona. With Leo so ticked off, it was best to hang out with the lizard lady this time.

"Let's hope the others do better than us." Donnie 'Mm hm-ed' in agreement as they kept a good distance away from the blue clad terrapin. Hopefully he would cool off once they got back to rest.


	11. Keeping Awake

It was an uncomfortably quiet walk on the way back to camp. Leonardo led the way with lengths behind him as the rest of his team members followed cautiously through the urban and jungle areas. Throughout the travel, the two tracking behind their leader quietly consoled one another if he had begun to cool off from their failure.

It was hard to tell given that they were so far away. When they hit the jungle, they could still not declare so for he was chopping their way through. His swipes were sharp and his grunts were frustrated yet mildly quiet. Either the shrubbery was very dense and consumed a lot of energy or some-turtle was still feeling it.

"Bam!" They heard a sudden yet familiar voice up ahead. They were clearly at camp due to The side of the campfire but the assailant was beyond the spot that the blue clad turtle had cut. Leonardo took it by surprise, ducking down as a crown of blue and magenta flowers was forced upon his head. "You've been flowered!" Michelangelo exclaimed with his hands in the air. Looking around, the other two of his team members were covered in flowers. Sitting in the middle of their mass of blankets, Venus has the same arrangement as Leonardo with the additive of a necklace of white flowers with yellow splashes in the middle. She was also more appreciative for she willingly kept it on. Her smile was bright seeing the shock and upset on the leader's face. Raphael, however, was not fairing so well. Sitting at the "table" (A giant rock with little boulder chairs), he was not recognizing those who has returned. Instead, he kept his eyes on the "table", fist enclosed tightly. By his feet, a trampled mess of torn up stems littered with orange and blue petals told the story of a simple crime scene that had happened earlier.

"What…" Leonardo, obviously still ticked, grumbled in a low voice. He looked up at the crown first, then scowled at Michelangelo. "the shell?"

The young turtle was all types of wrong. He had a rainbow array of flowers all over. His mask had been removed which was made to an even crazier use. With the ends tied to the straps of his backpack, they supported two separate stashes of apples, grapes, leaves, and other things he could find to press up against his chest much like a bra. On his waist, numerous palm tree leaves were woven by strips of bark and made into a skirt. He looked more like a discount Tutti Frutti more than anything else.

"Flowers for you…" Mona bowed her head as the colorful turtle placed a wreath of purple and yellow mix of poppies and freesias. Mona admired them, taking them in her hand to inspect them. With her head down, Michelangelo took the chance to place a crown of white begonias with a red rim around the petals atop her head. "flowers for you…" He found it harder to reach the much taller Donatello. The purple clad turtle did not bow as Mona had for he was less receiving. However, the youngest turtle was intuitive. He tossed the yellow and white necklace like he was a bottle in a ring toss game. The tall turtle ducked in anticipation, but the intertwined stems practically floated onto his head and cascaded down his neck (except for a piece that caught onto his microphone). When he shook his head to remove the irritating piece from his face, a coral crown was bestowed upon him. "And look! Look at ya'll," he pointed at Leo first, then to Venus. "ya'll so cute all matching and stuff!" He exclaimed. He sighed dreamily, clasping his hands together and pressing it against his cheek. "Ain't they cute everybody?!"

"So why do you look like a fruit salad?" The youngest turtle turned to the side. One hip propped up with a hand sitting on top of it. The other was placed behind the back of his head as he bounced his leg and made a large pout with his lips.

"Because I'm juicy." He had hoped to gain an new reaction from the leader. Leonardo continued to glare at his little brother, now with his arms crossing his chest. He let out a breath and began to tap his foot. The goofy smile on the orange clad turtle turned a different direction slowly. Quickly, his arms and hips dropped to a neutral position. "Just wanted to lighten up the mood." His tone was innocent and wished to do well.

"For…?" The leader leaned in. Michelangelo sucked his lips in and turned to his teammates. He didn't want to be the one to say it.

"We got nothing." Venus answered for him, but it was as equally joyful as the young turtle was now.

"What do you mean 'nothing'?" Both Venus and Michelangelo cringed when he asked that. Something with the way he said it and accentuated 'nothing' made it seem like they've done a childish job. Neither one wanted to precisely answer, but someone else would.

"We mean we lost him!" Raphael yelled, then banged his hand on the boulder. It hurt like shell but the adrenaline kept it at bay. His hand held the back of his head as he coped with calming down. "We got the drop on him then someone got the drop on us." He grumbled under his breath. Mona, a brave soul she was, walked gingerly up to the "table". There was no hand on his shoulder or an exchange of words. Instead, she just sat opposite of him on one of the rocks.

"An unknown assailant shot him before we could pull any real information from him." Venus' eyes followed Leonardo as he paced back and forth. It wasn't aggressive in nature, so it was probably a part of his usual thought reflex. "What we have is barely enough to have a lead on."

"You're saying someone shot him?" Donatello asked as he came to sit in the pile of blankets beside the female turtle.

"Shell yeah!" Raphael retaliated quickly from his little moping session. His head whipped so hard behind his shoulder that the lizard lady threw a hand out in case he'd hurt himself (or get up and hurt someone). Leonardo stopped pacing and turned to look at the female turtle.

"And you got nothing?" He pointed to her with a hand still crossed into his arms.

"No!" Raphael shouted again, leaving nothing for Venus to answer. This boy was seriously ticked off. "So, what did you guys get?"

"Just as much as you." Mona answered. Raphael turned back to her, looking at her incredulously.

"Someone shot Ocho, just like you guys, but then his body was dragged off when we weren't looking." Donatello clarified.

"So was Ruffington." Michelangelo gasped. From his crossed arms, a finger pointed up in an 'ah ha!' moment. Leo shook his head, placing his hands on his hips.

"Something really weird is going on." His pacing became a little more careful with every step. The leader shook his head and began reaching to his side. "I'll phone Vincent." His assured them as he pulled out his phone. "You guys get some sleep. I'll tell you whatever we got in the morning." Donatello raised his hand.

"I'll research what we have." Leonardo nodded in approval. In a few moments he strolled away in the brush to get some silence as well as allow his family some for their own sake.

Donatello had settled himself someplace away from the campgrounds. There was no telling when the gang would sleep, but he had to get some space. For sure, someone will complain about the light and tapping noises keeping them awake, then the noise of someone being annoying (the you-know-who) would distract him from conducting his research. He picked a spot where he could easily reach them but would not be able to hear him speak if he were to. He liked to talk things out to himself to gain some clarity.

At the moment, he was going off the first of their lead: what Ocho had said to Mona. She had shared it with him as they kept a safe distance from sizzling Leonardo. He tapped onto his tablet, soon dimming the brightness so the blue light wouldn't damage his eyes. Raph was usually the one to often warn him about the dangers, hence Donatello would reply with the routine 'I know.'. Now that job was given to Venus who had learned of the damages of the light from Raphael's recommendations . Now she hopped on the nag-train. Speaking of the female terrapin, off to the right a green arm wrapped around a thick tree. The rest of her torso emerged as the blue clad female terrapin patted the tree with her hand quietly.

"Are you keeping awake?" She asked with a serene expression. Donatello was happy that his friend had come, but even with a smile, he shook his head and presumed typing on his tablet.

"Go to sleep, Venus." He spoke in monotone, yet it was playful. Despite his efforts, the turtle girl only further entered his realm of solitude.

"I can't." She then placed a dainty hand on her head, touching it with her wrist like a damsel. Then, she slowly collapsed beside him. Donatello took a peek as she rested her head on his thigh and continued to play the 'drama queen' card. She continued breathlessly. "My best friend is all by himself, deprived of sleep and stuck on research duty. What kind of friend would I be for not sharing the insomnia?" Donnie humored her for a bit.

"The difference is that I enjoy this type of work." He explained, pulling up a new tab. The turtle girl removed the act and her hand.

"Well, maybe you'll need my help." The purple clad turtle raised his brow. With a free hand, he tapped her in the bridge of her nose with his finger.

"Miss 'New to Computers' thinks she can help?" The female terrapin raised herself up partially as her elbows and forearms kept her upper body off the ground.

"You man the computer, I'll help with any thought-blocks. Tóngyì?" She asked in her native tongue. Both had come up with this form of communication, in which most times Donatello would respond:

"Gōi shita." In Japanese. The defeated turtle cleared some space for her so she too can rest herself on the tree. She got up and pushed her shell up beside the new space and was quick to lean in and watch watch what he was going to pull up. "Let's start with something simple." He began. "Mona said when Cha was dying, he tried to mumble 'Christ the Re-'. She doesn't know exactly what he said so I hope this could be enough." He was typing in specifics into the search engine. It took a while with the rocky connection in the jungle.

"Narrow it down by entering Río or Brazil." She suggested. The turtle nodded in agreement. He stole a look at her after he felt her silently laughing that she was helping. Both remained quiet until the answers came up. With the right keywords, it was the first title from Wikipedia that came up with the answers. Despite Wikipedia being a not-so-reliable source, he clicked on it anyways for starters. The title was "Christ the Redeemer" with a picture of the familiar statue from the park. Donatello read aloud:

"'Christ the Redeemer' or 'Cristo Redento'" He tried to say in his best spanish accent. Venus admired his attempts and gave him a grateful nod. It wasn't the best she's heard, but hey, can't knock a guy for trying. Besides, they needed some humor in such a frustrating time. "is that statue of Jesus we've seen overlooking the city." From keeping his head down, his glasses began to slip down from his nose. Venus pushed them back up to their comfortable position for he held his tablet with both hands. He continued: "It's placed on top of the Corcovado mountain in this National park."

"And…?"

"And… that's it."

"No kidding, let me see." The female turtle took the tablet carefully in her hands. Donatello put both arms behind his head and leaned back on the tree. In the meantime, Venus was curled up into a ball position as she read over the information. "Yeah, yeah, Seven Wonder, restoration…." Her eyes widened, a full view of the screen imprinted into her eyes until she pulled away. "You're right."

"Try scanning over for 'underground'." He spoke through his yawn. "That's what Cha Ocho tried to say before he was killed." Unlike home, there was no honey glow in the outermost areas that he could see in the sky. With the town nearby, being in the jungle flushed out most of its radiance and allowed the stars to glow bright in the dark night. The light of the tablet was already dimmed, so it could not reach any further than the closest branch. The white lights flourished, twinkling in the late night. With so many to be seen, the turtle couldn't help but try to connect them altogether, creating constellations.

As he basked, the turtle girl was typing. Naturally, it was very slow for she had to find each letter and then tap it aggressively like an electronic-illiterate (which wasn't her fault). The techie humored her and then returned his eyes wander up to the sky. Each pounding click on the glass amused him, making him smile for he knew she was having a difficult time. There was a long pause between one of the particular taps. He glanced down to see what was on the screen. It was no longer 'Cristo Redento'. Instead, it was an informational page on something totally different. "What's that?" He unfolded his arms and leaned in her direction. The turtle girl brought it up for him to see.

"I couldn't find 'underground' but Ruffington mentioned 'King of Thieves'." Venus scrolled down. With every lift of the finger, Donatello leaned more because he was intrigued by this new clue. "There." She almost passed it in which she scrolled back up a little to look at a provided image. "The 'King of Thieves' statue."She announced quite proud of her achievements.

"Looks like an six armed monkey." Donatello could not deny that it wasn't anything short of it.

"Makes sense now, wouldn't it?" The female terrapin used two of her fingers to zoom in on the relic. "If you're going to steal things, might as well be an sectopus."

"Oh look!" Donnie exclaimed as he pointed to an article directly beneath the picture. "A legend for us to follow." He spoke as if it were something that wasn't so cliche and was a totally new idea to him. The female turtle smiled, yet shook her head for his overdose of sarcasm. Donnie bumped her playfully with his shoulder thus getting one back. Venus straightened herself to read the article clearly. Continuing to be childish, the techie rested his chin on her shoulder as she read. Staying up late really loosens the boy up, she's recognized.

"Whomever posses the statue gains luck through theft. No witnesses, no clues, not a trace to the beholder. Could you imagine what somebody could do with this?"

"Instant ninja. Incredible," The purple clad turtle exclaimed. Then, for his next sentence, he calmed himself some. "if it would work." Giving it the benefit of the doubt. Venus let the tablet lay flat on her lap.

"Of course it would work." She spoke in amazement that he would say such a thing. Wasn't it obvious? "Why would the enemy try to find it?" Donatello cocked his head back so far that his neck showed a nodule. He gave a hearty sigh.

"They're always superstitious and pathetic enough to go after it." His voice was incomplete monotone and somewhat expected. His voice was incomplete monotone and somewhat expected. Suddenly his head jerked up and his eyes grew for he caught himself for a brief second and straightened himself up. "it's also a gold statue so, pretty sure they'd be more interested in that aspect." Donatello was assured. Of course an enemy would go after a gold statue over a magical one. That's just what enemies do. They do bad things, and stealing is one of them.

"Or," she let him along with that last word. Hurt him and her finger rubbed the underside of her chin as she 'thought'. Donnie knew that look in her eye way too well. This turtle girl is going to put up a fight. "perhaps they are sure of its magical properties." The way she created her sentence was one in which the pitch of her voice elevated until the end. When she posed the question, she felt some vibrations against her arm. The turtle girl raised a brow and turned to her chuckling partner. "Why do you laugh?" Through his particular demeanor, it wasn't hard to tell that Donatello was 'mocking' her in some way. When her hand slapped against his collarbone he comedically try to compose himself, meaning, he didn't really try to hide the fact that he found it hysterical about what she had said.

"You're probably right." He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "The demented usually believe in unworldly sentiments and such." The purple clad turtle continued hysterically, laughing some but trying to hold it back. Given his choice of words, Venus wanted to test his theory.

"Then, what am I?" She asked harmlessly, but she had to admit that the inquiry would be most interesting to her. Immediately, the turtle straightened up with a somewhat mortified expression. The turtle girl grinned as the other finally noticed that he had just offended her.

"No, I mean…" He searched for the right words. What was Venus to him anyways? Like, what she does aside of Ninjitsu. What was he to make of her magical abilities. Science was easy to comprehend, yet he never questioned her magical abilities. What kind of scientist was he? Finally, he took a long, deep breath to compose himself. He was starting to get overloaded in his mind. Venus was quiet, smiling, but quiet to listen to her friend's answer. "Ok, I honestly do not know how you're able to do some of the things you do." Pause. "You're clearly not a fake…" he blurted out, but could not finish his sentence. "But…" To put him out of his misery, the female turtle pulled him to her collar, petting his head and giggling softly. He accepted it, trying to clear his mind to search for his real answer. "I don't know." He sighed defeatedly. Venus gave a knowing nod. She took her hand off his head but allowed him to continue laying there as she continued their research. "I can't prove what I can't understand." He added on. The enlarged eyes courtesy of his bifocals looked up innocently to see her face. All he could see was the underside of her face at an angle and the glow from the tablet highlighting her features. The turtle girl giggled before replying:

"A magician never tells their secrets." She spoke matter-of-factly. Donatello couldn't help but try. So, he resumed to let her read while he gave himself a break.

"I respect that."


	12. You Need to be Stopped

"Ey! Everybody get up! Get up!" It was Leonardo this early in the morning, of course. It was not alarming but only loud. Given he was saying so, the family had been asleep. There were discontented groans shuffling in the pile as they tried to come to. With minimal alarm, they were more annoyed than concerned. Within a little crack of their eyes, they could guess by the sun's position that it was indeed early morning. Blurred vision and all, one was able to make out the blue banded terrapin charging towards them. With his phone in his hand, he impatiently tried to nudge them all awake. Michelangelo moaned, his arms shuffling more underneath his head so his pillow could support him better.

"Why you shoutin'?" He grumbled.

"Wake up, come on! I've got Vincent on the line. Get up!" He paid no mind at all to the rest's wishes (like he never had to deal with that). The leader looked to his side and tapped a turtle with his toe for he was one who did not yet look alive. "You too, Donnie." The purple clad turtle murmured something inaudible but truly inconvenienced.

"You didn't have to yell." Mona used her elbows to prop herself up. Her hands were hard and dry as she used them to gently rub her eyes. The leader, upon seeing the uselessness to wait on them to stand, got back into the spot where he slept for the night. With his elbows and chest to support him, he plopped down on his stomach to where everyone's feet were circled up. The clan met him halfway by at least turning their bodies around to listen to what was going on.

"I have you on speaker;" he huffed as he pulled his elbows out from underneath him. It was putting unnecessary pressure on his stomach. "Go ahead, chief."

" _Speaking with local authorities, the events that have occurred with both your persons sounds like the work of Xever Montes."_ The 'room' got very quiet. They got a lead! A lead! Now's the time to stop whining, shut up, and listen close. Vincent hated to repeat herself anyways. " _As insurance, he follows those who are most likely to give information out about them and shoots them. It is only a Bebe gun but the bullets are specially formulated. They knockout the target and slows down the heart temporarily to the point that they appear dead. He uses it on his own guys because they know to stop breathing when shot by these bullets."_

"Incredible." Donatello gasped, partially cutting off the chief. His fist pressed his cheek against one of his eyes. "I'd like to get behind these bullets." In moments, the turtle began to daydream about the possibilities and science behind them. They're bullets that slow down the heart to the point of almost dying without killing people! Maybe it's not a 'perfect' concept, but wow! That's some serious science behind that feat.

"This isn't an experiment, Don." Leo cut him off. The techie turtle blinked a few times. "Remember that."

"That's also probably the first time someone's said that with enthusiasm." Raphael mumbled under his breath, but surely everyone heard him as he referred to his younger brother's wishes to 'get behind those bullets'. Vincent continued.

" _Xever is wanted but has evaded local authorities for months. Think you can find him?"_ She inquired. Surely, this hunt would impress her with their abilities considering she still had a hold on them that they were still children. Granted, they knew they were, but after saving the world a few times, it would feel good to have just a tad more respect under their names to help themselves to be a little more mature for what their work entails.

The family kept a few seconds of silence. In the meantime, there were exchanged glances: mostly defeated that they had no clue and maybe two urging someone to say something to the woman on the phone. She is a busy woman after all. The only one that did not partake in this event was the youngest, which was normal to not really be 'there' when thinking was involved. Instead, he kept to himself; eyes up to the sky, chin tilted up and a hand supporting his chin. Leonardo wasn't too sure what to tell her. They failed her once already. Yes, there were special circumstances but now they have absolutely nothing to give back to her. Finally, Venus broke the silence.

"We don't know where to start."

"But I do!" A quick cringe fell upon the group as the youngest child sang on top of his lungs. The biggest one was Raphael, who was in so close in proximity to smell his morning breath. As he covered up his melting sinuses, he came up with a million roasts (Skunk munchin-doodoo-lands-booty flake-eatin-halitosis-having-motha-). Mikey reached under him and slipped a hand somewhere beneath the jacket wrapped around his waist. "How about a warehouse?" Betwixt his fingers was an overused card with multiple creases and subtle signs of aging. He held it out, keeping it away from his body while his chest puffed out with his head turned the opposite direction. Leonardo reached to snatch the card from him. When he pulled it towards his face, the two beside him tried to get a peek. The words were hand-written in smudged pencil but it was still legible. The only thing on it was the word "The Warehouse" (surprising it was in English. To tip off the portuguese speakers perhaps?) and the address.

"Where did you get this?" Leonardo inquired. He looked up with a slightly annoyed expression. Michelangelo had yet to see it for his head was still turned proudly away with his eyes closed.

"While Raph was playing bad cop to Ruff tuff, I got bored babysitting his men so I went to pick-pocketing." The Orange banded turtle turned around and opened his eyes to present his pinchers, which demonstrated his deed through the air repeatedly. Then, he got a backhand behind his head. It was light yet it still caused a frightened reaction from Michelangelo.

"Why didn't you show us this before?!" Raphael's low morning voice gurgled and growled. The young turtle gave his head one last swipe of his hand before he could explain himself.

"It didn't matter before." His tone was enthusiastic and forthcoming. "I had to make sure we really had nothing in case we based our entire investigation on this random address." There was a still silence. Somebody wanted to challenge that notion, yet they couldn't.

"I guess that's plausible." Donatello was first to admit. In Michelangelo's defense, would he rather lead them on a totally different line after their leads had been taken away or wait it out? It was, in his case, the better route to take. Mikey smiled.

"Thanks, but there's no need for applause" he brought his hand up in a 'stop' gesture. "a 'thank you' is good enough." Following his disassociation to the correct use of Donnie's vocabulary, he 'stood' very proud and accomplished before them all. Leonardo shook his head yet smiled all the same. His wrapped his arm around the top of his shell and brought him in close.

"Thanks, Mikey." The orange banded terrapin nodded his head confidently after knowing that he had made a contribution. He kept his arm around him and continued to speak for his team. "We'll go tonight. All of us."

" _Great."_ Vincent's loud and sudden voice made the jump some. They had forgotten she was still on the phone for a brief moment. " _Relay the news if there is any. Good morning, correct?"_

"Yes, mam." Leo smiled. "Have a good day, Chief." Without another word, her line broke off. Leonardo shoved his phone back into its pocket underneath him.

"I love you, bro." Leonardo re-wrapped his arm around Michelangelo except more tightly this time around. The young turtle wriggled in his eldest brother's grip as he loved him immensely. His face curved into an ugly smile as he tried to shake free from the leader's grip. With a little work, Michelangelo was able to free himself and stood up quick, then took a step away from him to ensure a re-capture.

"It's too early for all that." Says the main one being the loud-riser. Leonardo laughed. As he quieted down, his head gently lowered between his arms until it met the blankets. His shell heaved until there was a long, even sigh muffled underneath him.

Venus and Mona lifted themselves from the pile. Mona would rather stretch out her limbs than assist Venus to find whatever it was that she needed from their bags. Donatello, although awake, was still not in the mood to get up just yet. Like Leonardo, he lowered his head back down to drown out the light from his eyes. His arms slid around the blankets; hands gripping them. Suddenly, he was getting a sense of awareness. Lifting his head up, he really got a look around. He was at the campsite. Confused, he lifted his torso and sat up. Leonardo peeked from his arm, but then resettled for it was nothing.

"How did I get up here?" The tips of his fingers spread his brow apart from the middle, pushing his glasses away from his face with his knuckle. Honestly, he was _sure_ that he did not have the energy to go back to camp. His last memory was that computer screen.

"V tugged you up here last night." Raphael answered as he stood up with a couple quiet grunts.

"You know you like to talk in your sleep?" Venus added matter-of-factly as she pulled her own phone from the bag. There was a little smirk on her face as she checked the time and then tucked it away in her side. Donnie kept his face low for his smile was too bashful to show.

"I didn't say anything stupid, right?" His voice cracked when he asked.

"'We need to catch Ruffington. We'll get him if you'd stop running into trees. Trees are big. Climb up there and look for him.'" She portrayed him with a deep and somewhat dopey tone to impersonate the unconscious inventor." When finished, she giggled modestly and returned to her smooth yet cheerful demeanor. "If anything it was intelligibly intelligent." She offered. "At least your train of thought is on the right track." Donnie gave her a half smile in which she returned with a full one followed by a playful wink.

"It's a good thing we've got two minds on track!" Michelangelo butted in with his loud voice. Donatello shook his head irritably before attempting to stand. The two consulting turtles walked away for their ears were already annoyed with all the yelling this morning. Michelangelo paid his purple banded brother no mind for it was the other who needed to hear this. He forced himself to stare at the female turtle as he continued to speak. She was completely unaware of his eyes at the moment as she went through her bag again, but the three eldest definitely took notice. With a mix of confusion and cringe-worthy expressions, they stood there as he continued. "Way to get that info, Leo!" His talk sounded more of an elaborated speech as he gave a big thumbs up to said turtle. Mona Lisa, slowly pulling her hair together, turned to Raphael for some answers. The large brute barely caught her glance before dropping his head. His lips were loose as he closed his eye, shook his head and sighed. For some reason, Venus had this funny feeling. She paused for a moment and honed into herself. The turtle girl's nose crinkled, thinking to herself. She continued on, much slower this time, but she had yet to give Michelangelo the time of day. The lizard lady gave one last puzzled look towards the orange banded turtle before carrying on. Leonardo, however, could not let it go.

"What the shell are you-?" Before he could get his sentence out, Michelangelo had another word to get in. Getting a certain feeling, Venus turned towards his way. His creepy stare retreated immediately so she was not to suspect a thing. When he felt her eyes on him, he gave his full, undivided attention to Leonardo. The eldest retreated within his own personal space as the young one carried on with incredibly fake enthusiasm, open arms, and over the top facial expressions.

"You're the one directing the entire mission and look at how far we've come!"

"We almost fai-." Before he could finish, the younger turtle swooped in, practically hanging off his brother.

"SH SH SHSHSHHHH!" He violently quieted him up close and personal. His finger tapped his own nose rapidly to shut the leader up while he was on a roll. "You got Donnie to look up our leads and kept up to date with the chief. Way to go, bro! Becoming a better leader every day!"

"Yeah…" Mona's voice lingered uncomfortably. Does she really want to ask what was going on? "well, I'm showering up." Was her escape as she scuffled away quickly. Venus wanted to follow behind her, but was too busy with her bag to go immediately. Raphael threw his hands up.

"I'm out." Just as confused as the rest of them, he did not question anything as he tried to leave. He looked like a working machine with his large build as he kept his hands up and made a turn away from the weirdness.

"Raph, hang back a bit." The red turtle cringed when he took his last step and paused. "Come here!" Two of his fingers hooked under each nostril as he proceeded to drag him away with Raphael follow by behind. The two female mutants knew whatever that was going on was fishy. Donatello had a funny feeling as well, especially since he was not called in for their little meeting. Honestly, if it was a Michelangelo "roasting session" or just a warning to keep his eccentricity down, he really did not want any part of it. It was too early in the morning for that. Maybe later in the evening he would be interested. With Mona's prior notion, the three agreed a dip this morning would be great after a very confusing and noisy awakening. Let the three loud-mouths deal with one another. It was quiet mutant's time.

Michelangelo was now repeatedly saying "Ow! Ow!" since Leo has yet to let him go when they were a good distance from the other's ears. It had gotten to the point where Raphael couldn't take it anymore. He took hold of Leonardo's arm and tried to pry his reluctant hand out of the youngest's nose. Mikey winced as his nose was being pulled by Leonardo and pushed by the chest because of Raphael's hand. The red clad turtle was not prepared from Leo's tight grip, in which he had to put his heart into it to spare their young brother's nostrils. Slowly, the leaders fingers began to slip until the tension sent Michelangelo back. When he got him off of him, Raphael immediately held the eldest brother back because he immediately tried to go after him.

"What was that?" He barked. Michelangelo, hurt, held his nose. He really hoped Leo hadn't stretched them out. He flattened out his hand and investigated it. Hey, no blood!

"Too much?" He asked in a meek voice and an innocent expression. It only wanted Leo to punch him right then and there, but his brick-wall of a brother kept him in check. Besides, that was more his department. The blue banded turtle shook his head. His reasoning behind it made him calm down some to actually sound like he was talking instead of yelling.

"What are you doing?"

"Talking you up!" Michelangelo exploded. Neither of the older turtles saw it coming. The young turtle grumbled loudly, throwing his hands up and walked in a frustrated circle. Michelangelo recollected himself in front of the two. His hands kept to his hips as he rocked them to a side. "After all I've taught you, you've managed to keep in the friend zone. What kind of trained lova are you?" He gave him a surveying look up and down. When he eyes met the matching blues, he vibrated his lips briefly and scoffed. "Disciplined my shell." What? With minimal tension between themselves, Raphael deemed it safe to say that he can let go of his eldest brother. When he did, Leonardo did not try to go after him. He was probably trying to sort out what the orange banded turtle just said. Did he want to hear it? No, not really. But was it fact? Dang it. Leonardo sighed before shaking off his shoulders.

"I appreciate you being the 'hype man' but now it's a little too noticeable."

"Here's what we'll do." Raphael butted in. His large figure quickly filled up the space between the two as he placed a hand on each one's shoulder. He looked to Mikey first. "You shut up" He turned his head towards Leonardo before Michelangelo shown his shocked expression. When he didn't see it, he resorted to sticking his tongue out. "and you keep your mind on what's at hand." Those were orders.

"Excuse me!?" Michelangelo exclaimed. Leonardo took a step back to get his hand off of him. The red clad terrapin lowered his arms to his side until he began to point an accusatory finger at the youngest.

"No, this isn't about you. It's about Leo." Michelangelo placed a hand on his chest, feeling hurt and amazed that he dissed him like that. Raphael gave his attention etion back to Leonardo and continued. "If you're still hung up on V, don't let that dictate the outcome of our work." He paused to point at Michelangelo again. "Mikey is not gonna help except make it all creepy." Did he not care about the young turtles' feelings? He was blind to the turtle behind him who danced around, acting like he was ready to throw some hands. Leo was too much in shock to speak. The entire time, Raph was pretty much hands off with this relationship problem unless he was roped into it somehow. It took him two years to get a real say in it without Michelangelo's influence. "Do what I di-. Do what I'd do: Tell her."

His serious expression broke with a smile. Not too long did it take Leo to begin to laugh nervously. Raphael did not break his concentration while the leader was acting unlike himself.

"Yeah right." He spoke hard, his eyes rolling while catching his breath from his chuckle session.

"You won't get anywhere if you don't loosen your straps and talk to Venus." Raphael continued as stern as ever. His eyes never broke the stare with his elder brother. Upon notice, Leonardo hiccuped into silence and his smile faded as well.

"How?" He paused to glance at the ground. When?" His voice was shaky and somewhat distressed. Now that Leo was going to take him seriously, Raphael collected himself. He chewed on his lip; arms folded over his chest as his eyes took to the sky in thought. They came back down moments later.

"Now would be good." He suggested blankly.

"What?!"

"It's just… the sooner the better. Get this off your chest now" his prodded his finger in said region. Leonardo looked down on it. "and you'll be a lot more relieved afterwards." The red banded turtle brought his finger down and folded his arms back up. "Y'know, with either outcome."

"Thanks Raph for the vote of confidence." The leader sarcastically remarked. However, there was a small, weak smile on his face. The brute licked his lips before giving him a wink.

"It's no big deal. The quicker you do this the more I don't have to hear about it." His tone of voice became more aggressive. You know, the usual. Leo raised a brow and smirked. There's the Raphael he knew too well. Suddenly, he began flailing his arms in a fashion that made the leader back up from him instinctively. "Now go! Off with you! Shoo!" With orders, the leader nervously laughed as he trudged away. A couple steps in, he would look behind him with an expression that spoke 'so I have to?' in which of course Raph's expression clearly read 'yeah, softshell!'. The walking turtle smiled and chuckled to himself nervously, running through how and what he wanted to say to the female turtle when he found her.

With Leonardo numerous yards away, showing his commitment to talking to Venus, Raphael began his previous journey to get to the lake. However, as he began walking, Michelangelo stopped him with his body. He got directly in front of him, using his chest to hold him back. In order to make himself bigger (and get more strength in the push), the orange clad terrapin stood on his toes and shot a menacing look directly towards his brother.

"Next time you impersonate a Love doctor, I'm suing your shell." He pointed a sharp, accusatory finger at him. Raphael rolled his eyes and pushed the young one's hand down. Michelangelo gasped at the disrespect and Raphael pushed him aside with his arm.

"Please, child." He addressed him directly. "You read the magazines but you don't have the girl." Michelangelo choked on his own disbelief, making quite the scene with his mouth wide open, letting puffs of air escape with his tongue occasionally sticking out and his hands either holding up 'ones' or keeping his hands up.

"And what makes you so qualified." He asked sassily.

"Trust me," Raphael began to walk away. "I have more qualifications than you."

"What you talkin' 'bout Willis?" Miley asked in an iconic tone, but the other turtle failed to respond. "Willis! Will- Raph!" Nope. He wasn't giving in. Through all the confusions that has happened this morning, Michelangelo couldn't take it. His brow furrowed as his eyes looked up to the sky for answers. They put him to voicemail. "The shell!"

Please be away, please be away. At least, that's what Leonardo was chanting in his mind as he went looking for the female turtle. Half of his mind said it in hopes that she was by herself (thereby avoiding the awkwardness of asking another to go away) and partially that it would be too late (thus an excuse for avoiding the talk altogether). Currently, the turtle he was searching for in particular was not at the campsite when he got there. Neither were the others. Great? With his own self fighting whether or not it would make him feel better to speak with her with particular terms, one side of his was somewhat satisfied. However, he forced himself to look beyond. With a heavy sigh, he continued on to see if he could catch up to her. He reckoned they went to the lake like they had planned. Hopefully he can catch her before they jump in?

It was very humid already for the sun was well above the mountains at this point of time. If he had been human, the jungle heat would have irritated him. Yet, with his own special circumstances it made him feel comfortable, giving him an aid to soothe himself. Raphael and Michelangelo made the choice to not stalk him and make sure he went through it. Good thing too. He could not bare to stand there as flustered as he did in front of them when he caught sight of Venus' head in the brush. Oh shell. The bridge of his nose began to tense and crinkle once he saw her. Soon, his face was hotter than it would be comfortable. His discomfort led to him clearing his throat. He did it so quietly to not alarm the turtle girl of his presence. Not yet.

However, when he did, the turtle girl stopped in her tracks. Her ear turned, cocking her head to the side to take a listen. Even under the ambience of the forest, that was not a sound made daily. The leader had to force himself to make himself known to her. There's no need for her to attack him. Leonardo surely was not in the mood for that either. He cleared his throat louder this time. It was more aggressive than he thought because he was coughing all of his nerves up. Venus turned around violently. She could not see him immediately but had to look past the shrubbery to do so. He felt a little more embarrassed that he started himself off like that, but he kept on.

"V! You have a minute?" He asked shyly as he caught up to her. The female terrapin was already in her very loud suit; her mask was off.

"Sure." She answered normally. Venus took a step to the side, but was stopped when Leo put a hand on her shoulder.

"No, no. I mean…" He took a pause. "Alone?" Immediately, Venus' bright expression turned to a work of worry.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing like that. Uh…" Leonardo rubbed the back of his head with one of his hands. It was an excuse to keep his gaze off her attentive eyes. "How are you holding up? You know,the travel, the mission." He dared to look up, extending his palm to her. "I was hoping for your opinion." Venus appeared shocked. It was one in which she thought something devastating had happened. When she figured it out, she carried on. However, she had some funny feeling wriggling inside her.

"Um… it's alright, I guess. Could be better once we get this lead."

"You and me both." He laughed nervously.

"From what Donatello has found, there's a statue they may be trying to recover. It's in these mountains but no one will try to find it for they believe it is beneath the statue on the mountain."

"That's great!" He exclaimed. "I mean, bad that they want to do that, but now we have a sense of their motives." Good recovery.

"Oh boy I can't wait!" Venus brightened up again. Her hands clasped together as she did a little jump to display her excitement. "This legend has some type of sorcery tied into it that I cannot wait to find out about." Her hands folded into her chest and swayed her hip to the side; brow cocked up, she added to the side. "That'll teach Donatello not to question Magic." She added smugly. In all honesty, Leonardo was not exactly listening. Instead, he was waiting for her to stop so he could get on with what he wanted to say. This was what Raphael was talking about. It's not characteristic of him to just ignore someone giving information based on the mission at hand. Dang, this is really going to mess him up. Thankfully, today would be the end of it.

"I've got another question." He blurted out. Venus stood in silence while Leonardo tried his hardest not to blush at his boldness. "Not related to the mission."

"Okay?" Her lingering words brought him to a small panic. In his mouth, his tongue ran over the top of his teeth and then sucked on them briefly. What he wanted to say was not as fluid in his mind anymore. How was he going to start this off again? Now on the spot, he nearly forgot his entire template of what to say.

"Venus, remember back in China when I tried to ask you something?" That was the first thing that came to mind. He still did not look at her. Venus felt it was rather odd.

"No." She's seriously not helping him out right now. He sucked it up again, just letting it flow.

"It was right before we left. You told me to stop and that the plane was going."

"I don't recall."

"Well, I wanted to tell you what I was trying to say." He gave a deep sigh, shaking his head. With all the courage in his heart, he forced himself to look in her eyes. "Venus-."

"Does it have to be now?" She interrupted him mid-sentence. Leo shut up immediately, biting his tongue. "I'm sorry if I appear rude but I'm too involved with this case we're on. Please tell me that this is not so important." He could sense some annoyance or frustration in her tone. She probably wanted to be rude to him, but did not have the heart to do so. Maybe that was his mind over-evaluating the situation. Whatever it was, his heart started to sink as he was questioned.

"Yeah, it- it kind'of is…" He stuttered.

"Does it keep us alive? Does it help with the mission at hand?" She listed.

"N-no. No it doesn't." He sighed. His eyes went back to look at his feet. His large ones stood crooked and pigeon toed in comparison to her smaller, straighter stature. It was weird for the leader to be so submissive at the moment. It felt like defeat. "You're right. We should keep our heads on the mission."

"Thank you for understanding." Furthermore, she took a step to the side and began to walk away from him. Leonardo watched her as she walked to the lake. He stood there, not moving a muscle as he tried to come to terms with what had happened. Why didn't he just say it anyways? Then and there? He had her! Alone! It was going to be the end of this torture. The blue banded terrapin gritted his teeth and pursed his lips. Suddenly, dust floated in the air as he fiercely kicked the ground beneath him.

"D*mn." He whispered.


	13. Robotics

The moon casted a blue hue to one side of the building, shining on both it and the sea that crashed beside it. There was a single warehouse on the plot of land with a chain-link fence surrounding it. Scattered along the lot were industrial accessories such as stacked crates, a shed, and a crane by the sea to pick up the exclusive shipments.

"If you're gonna have your stuff shipped by sea, might as well keep your warehouse too." Michelangelo commented. As first one to make it to the top of the hill, he was the only one who could make sense of his remark. The rest of the team followed closely behind out of reserving energy from their constant climbing (man, did they really miss flat land). Internally, there was a collective sigh once they got to the very point of the hill and saw what the youngest turtle did. "Smart." Mikey nodded, putting his hands on his hips while feeling the ocean's breeze brush past him. It was also a great feeling to know that his own intuition led them out of the darkness and on some type of track by re-visiting their old pal, Ruffington. Donatello slipped his goggles over his eyes and began to toy with the toggles. The group did their own once over from the distance as he did what he could.

"Nothing's picking up on my thermoscan." He twisted the base of one of his lenses and then flipped it back over his head.

"Let's roll." Leonardo commanded. Quickly, the clan swiftly jumped onto it and took off for the seemingly empty warehouse.

Entering it was like old times. The doors of the place worked like a garage, so it had to be intruded from above. The building had multiple ledges by design, making itself a step ladder to the urban ninjas as they made way for the roof. Security cameras were a no for none were present on the outside. How could it get any better? No alarms. The family was on the roof and were now pushing the glass window from above open for their bodies to fit through. Thankfully, there were beams directly below to catch them and lead them to jump onto the high stacked crates. One by one took a leap down, easily infiltrating and getting to the ground where the main floor was. Venus was the first of them to enter.

"Whoa!" Venus gasped. The glimmer in her eye was filled with the large piles of robotic parts that filled the floors of the specific yet large portion of the warehouse. They were assorted by their specific piece, thus making it an over-the-top organization of the sea of metal.

"Check out the product!" Raphael tapped a piece that had gone rogue and kicked it beside its desired pile.

"That's a lot of robots." Leonardo spoke in monotone as he caught up with the discovery (He was still on the last of the crates when he said so). Raphael took a piece from the very top of the pile and examined it with a careful eye.

"Is this a leg?" He inquired as he turned it over for inspection. The piece was made up of two thick bars of metal that was able to bend when you wave it back and forth. On one side, there was another bar but it was thicker and shorter in comparison. It could move as well, but it was not as flexible as the others.

"You guys might want to take a look at this." Mona Lisa called. During their awe, the lizard girl was already doing her own investigation. In seconds, the mass of green caught up to her and stopped abruptly in their tracks. Before them were rows upon rows of the parts being fully assembled. They were so neat and straight that they maintained a militaristic atmosphere.

"Hey!" Mikey exclaimed while pointing. "Those are those RoboDogs! Remember when these were shella popular in like 2003?" Mona and Venus had no idea what he was talking about. However, the brothers knew very well, but barely acknowledged it. "We used to make one out of rocks and sticks 'cause we could never get one." Ah, yes. It was like _The Little House on the Prairie_ growing up. One had to make their own toys with whatever they got. Seeing them on TV was so cool but they could never find on available because no one would throw them out. Now, they could get as many as they wanted, but it just wasn't the same.

"Just what the world needs.: Mona picked on up. "Puppy robots." Raphael stood closely over her shoulder as they investigated the creature. The head of it was smooth, rounded at the crown and the muzzle that shaped jagged 'teeth'. Where the forehead was, a single red 'eye' that represented more of a camera or scanner resided. The rest of its body was generic with a rectangle body, cylinder legs, and clunky feet. Its stance was much more like a rabbit because its haunches were lower than its front end. Raphael shook his head.

"First question is 'Why'? Second, 'Why so many'?"

"Donnie. Think you can decipher these hieroglyphics?" Said turtle had his attention diverted to the far left. He followed the voice of the female turtle hidden behind the aisle of crates. Coming around the corner, what he found was Venus standing before a board with her back turned and her arms across her body. Donatello approached with an arm of curious mutants. Coming closer, his glasses were able to sharpen the appearance of what was written on the board. It was all numbers and equations, no foreign language he could not understand (thankfully). The female turtle did not turn her attention to him when he came to her side. She was very much into the board; her eyes darted back and forth as she scanned them. He humored her for a second for trying, but when she scrunched her nose, he knew it was time for him to get down to business. Mona approached close as well. Donnie may be the designated smart one but one cannot forget that this girl was a physics genius.

"This is the type of mechanics used for robotics." Donatello concluded. He looked at the two beside him. Venus didn't have a clue. Mona continued reading but nodded her head in agreement. She knew nothing about robotics, but with the equations on movement, she had that one in the bag.

"No kidding." Raphael muttered under his breath, turning only his upper body to glance back at the room of dismembered robot parts.

"It's very impressive that they got these things moving on four legs. The dynamics of a four-legged walking robot is not something to take lightly but there are also protrusions on the bottom of their 'feet'." He demonstrated what would be the 'spikes' on their feet by putting a curved finger beside his hand to give the illusion of it coming out of his palm. He left it to their own memory to remember the dainty detail while investigating the parts earlier. "It could be a climber too. The 'head'" Donnie's finger outlined the outside of the drawing where the head was located. "of it is very smooth in design. It could be just for looks or of ease. Typically, the rounding off" he brushed his finger repeatedly over the very top of the head. "is meant for ease of travel, which is what I think it is meant to be because of the camera. See the optics?" Donnie pointed to the single 'eye' in the middle of its head. "It's meant to scan and see in infra red. Of course, there could be a matter of quantum mechanics put into it..."

"Yeah, but we don't know what that means." Leonardo considerably interrupted. Donatello turned around fully to explain.

"It means 'no good'." His tone was worried for good reason. Just when he said so, Venus had a bad feeling once again. What it was from, she couldn't tell. For the time being, she checked out of what was at hand to find an explanation for her feeling by channeling her chi. Nobody paid particular mind to the meditating terrapin for a nuisance was on its way.

"Look at this!" Shoved in Leo's personal space, the head of a robot was used as a puppet because the young turtle had slipped away from their grasp to go retrieve it. Michelangelo opened its maw accordingly next to the side of his face as he played. "WOOT WOOT! That's da sound of da police! WOOT WOOT! It's the sound of a beast!" He chanted until he succumbed to a hearty laugh.

"Quit screwing around!" Leonardo's yell was held back between his teeth. The surprise made Michelangelo lose his grip on the toy. Fumbling, he tried to catch it but it fell to the ground, clanking as it went. The young turtle rubbed his head and smiled to a point where you could no longer see his eyes. His laugh was nervous, trying to pull off his own embarrassment. The purple clad turtle shook his head and sighed briefly.

"The way that these bots are designed," Donnie resumed. "it is most certainly that they are less of a weapon and more of a tool."

"And that's what they're using to uncover the statue?" Leonardo approached, taking a good eyeful of the board he could not understand.

"Looks like they are." Donatello nodded. "The suitability is for climbing, walking," He paused to think and adjust his glasses. "could be used for digging. The optics could be a camera for scoping. It's an all around tool. A villainous rover."

"Mona, above!" Venus screamed; her eyes bugged out as she looked up. Mona Lisa immediately looked up but it was too late. Before she could react, she was already shoved to the ground by a being in black who fell directly on top of her. The person was concealed completely. They wore a black, turtleneck longsleeve along with a hooded, bulletproof vest and pants. The most haunting was the mask that shielded their identity. The only scripture on it was a faint, silver outline of a skeleton. Withdrawing a sword from their side, Leonardo was quick to counter by pulling one of his own out and blocking it. The assailant jumped back for they did not know that the turtle would be so quick. Seeing another coming for her, she threw three shuriken from her side. Donatello's back bended like no other to avoid them, but it did stop his momentum. Briefly after throwing them, the person was overwhelmed by the rapid fire chain that wrapped around them. It was tight, squeezing their flesh against the metal mercilessly. Their waist was pulled sharply in reverse, making them run backwards and go unbalanced. Before they could see where it was coming from, the momentum of their own and the red clad turtle made an epic clash. The one in black was completely KO'd.

"What?!" Michelangelo bellowed. His arms curled over his head until he slammed them around a lifted knee that penetrated its own opening. The crew looked on, making sure they were still breathing. Raphael jostled his shoulders while Mona stepped forth to regain some of the extra chain in her hand. The fallen was secured with her surujin. Even with their arms free they deemed it safe to come close.

With his toe, Raphael turned the perpetrator over. A feminine face was uncovered when the shaken black mask popped off of it. Skin of brown with black hair in bantu knots revealed the attacker. Mona Lisa crouched down beside her. Her hand grasped the edge of her cloak and pulled it back, searching her.

"Black clothing. Concealed weapons." Her chin went over her shoulder to take a look at the mutants standing above her. She was very smug. "I think we were just sent an assassin."

"That's one heck of a security system." Raphael commented.

"Make sure that's good and tight." The leader twirled his finger and straightened himself up. "When she comes to we will question her."


	14. Who Sent You

"Aye, I think she's waking up." The woman heard a low whisper. She was not quite sure where she was yet remembered what she was doing. For her safety, she kept quiet and listened.

"Turn on the lights! Turn on the lights!" A very over eager voice whispered harshly. The bright white light over her head shocked her pupils that were used to the pitch black. Through her squinting eyes, she could see the faint faces of the mutants she was fighting with earlier. One of her bantu knots had come undone, thus flopping in front of her face. Footsteps were heard behind her. She remained still; her head kept low as they came up beside her. It was an orange banded terrapin. His posture was upright as he came around with his hands behind his back. She tried not to stare at him, but it was so hard for a fantastic creature such as him. He was now about-face, glaring her down with a large lower lip.

"Who sent you? Who sent you?!" He exploded. The refined posture went out the window as he grasped the handles of the chair she was sitting in and leaned in close. With her hands now tied behind her back, she could do nothing but respond.

"Dejar de lado que te sucio animal!" She shouted with fire. The young turtle drew a blank expression.

"What the shell is that?" he turned to his family behind him.

"I think she's speaking Spanish." Donnie added.

"What the shell kind of black girl speaks Spanish?" Michelangelo's voice was distressed. He was so ready to play bad cop and now the girl cannot even understand him (and he can't understand her). No fun.

"The Dominican Republic is Afro-Hispanic." The techie informed.

"Tell her to stop playing and talk right!" Suddenly, the woman began to speak rapidly in her native tongue. "You may be speaking gorgeous but I ain't got time for your games!" He retaliated over her, but all they got were two people trying to talk over one another without understanding.

"I don't know Spanish." Donnie shrugged.

"At least we know someone who does." Leonardo nodded when he held his shellphone and shook it in a presenting way in his hand.

Minutes passed as Leonardo tried to catch a hold and fully explain the situation to their Chicana ally. Meanwhile, Michelangelo was trying to cope with the overwhelming language change as the black woman continued to argue him in spanish.

"No!" He grabbed her shoulders. She continued to shout, now looking at his large hands grasp her shoulders. "You're black, stop embarrassing yourself!" He stared into her eyes with the most sincerity. However, she continued to scream. Mikey's shoulders dropped. He turned his head away and whined in defeat. "I'm so confused by all these languages!" Donatello sighed.

"There's just as many of African descent speaking Spanish, French, Swahili, and English." It was annoying to keep reminding him about the diversity of the world, but it was just getting a little too much for their younger brother. A large hand descended upon Michelangelo's shoulder. His eyes were watery when he looked up into the eyes of his understanding brother. Leonardo used easy force to tell Michelangelo to get off of her. The turtle complied, but was still upset. To comfort him, Venus took him into her arms. She held him from behind, smiling as he took it all in and used her as his rock.

The woman eyed him as he crouched down and put the phone near her. He remained calm in demeanor.

"Ask her where Baxter Stockman is hiding." He referred to the one on the other end of the phone.

" _¿Donde se esconde Baxter Stockman?"_ The woman looked up at Leonardo. She appeared lost at first before responding.

"¡Usted toda cometiendo un gran error ! Pronto , se le pedía clemencia , Stupido rojo n****!

" _She said y'all making a big mistake. And one day you'll be begging for mercy. She also said…"_ They leaned in, waiting for the rest. It never came.

"What?" Leo inquired. Still more silence.

"Angel, we gotta know everything." Raphael chimed in.

" _I don't know man, she used the N- word to you."_

"To me?" He shrieked, quite surprised. Must be because he was the last thing she saw. "But she-! Look, tell this piece of s- word that I'm gonna f- her up!"

"Raph!" Leonardo scolded.

"I ain't sayin it, Angel is!"

" _Él se llama un pedazo de m***** y se j****** ._

"¿Me llama un j ****** ?" The assassin repeated with a laugh. "Su madre tiene que j ****** arriba , n**** rojo."

"Did she say negro again?" Raph turned quickly to the phone. This was war now.

" _Yeah, but then she mentioned yo mama."_

"Tell her that her mama's an 'H'!"

"Raph!" The brute turned to Donatello, quite annoyed. He was expecting another scolding but instead, he got a whispered correction. "I think it starts with a 'w'."

"'W'" He corrected. "then her sister and her mama a 'w' with a double 'w' grandma that makes double cuz she got no teeth! Tell her I said that!"

"Veo el c*** lucha sus batallas." Her voice smoothed out from earlier. It was still harsh, but there was less stress in her throat.

"Did she diss again?"

" _This time she was calling out Donnie for being a word that means 'cat'."_ Offended, Donatello clenched his heart; his mouth gaped open.

"Tell her she's an 'HW'!" He exploded. The rest of the team lifted a brow. Homework (A Donatello-y thing I guess)?

"Bro," Michelangelo spoke as calmly as he could, his body was still engulfed in the female turtle's arms in which he kept closed with his own hands. "you mean 'h'."

"Whatever! Call her something insulting!"

"Todos ustedes estarán marcados para la muerte cuando Stockman los encuentre aquí." She gave them an equal amount of glaring, locking her eyes on each individual as she spoke. She was confident and smiled the entire time. "¡Cada uno de ustedes!"

" _She said you'll be marked for death when Stockman finds out you're here."_ Without warning, the red brute kneeled before her. On his knees, he was an acceptable height to come eye-to-eye with her. With him being so large, putting himself between her legs rendered them useless to try to kick him. Of course, what she could possibly reach was all shell.

"Where's Stockman or imma cut your throat and squeeze lemon juice in it!" Raphael was not playing these games.

"That's nasty." Mona cringed. The very remaining chain in her hand jiggled when she shivered from the thought.

"Gonna get her to talk! Ain't it?" He turned back to the woman. How much did she want to bop him right there, but her body would not allow her to do so. The terrapin looked her up and down, formulating a plan. " Let's do it this way." He nodded, then extended his arm behind him. His hand them flapped his two fingers into his palm like a 'gimme' gesture. "Mikey, hand me a shurukin."

Although a little upset he had to remove himself from the satisfying embrace, Michelangelo brought his hands down and went off to go pick up one of the thrown shuriken. He disappeared into the dark. Moments later, the sound of the air slicing caught everyone's attentions. The silver piece came close to the turtle and his captive. Just before it could try to scrape him, Raphael jerked his shoulder down as the piece flew past them. He, the other mutants, and the captive as well all looked in the direction from which it came. Standing in the shadows was the orange clad terrapin. He was completely still as he balanced on one leg and maintain the stance from which he threw the piece.

"Oops! My bad." He apologized quite deadpan. From his other hand was a backup shurukin that he had hoped to keep rather than give it away. The brute scolded him as he walked up humbly and handed it over.

"C'mon man, I'm trying to interrogate somebody." Raphael shook his head disapprovingly as the young turtle backed up into the shadows once more. He kept going until his shell bumped into Venus' carapace. Quite deadpan himself, he grabbed Venus' arms and wrapped them around himself. With the metal in his hand, he carefully came closer. When it got near her face, she brought her chin up in avoidance. He stopped just below her chin. If he brought it down, the blade would puncture her throat. The turtle was giving her another chance as he stared her down. "Where's Baxter Stockman?"

"¡Màtame!" Her body thrusted forward. It surprised her interrogator, causing him to jump. The woman then began to sob very lightly, catching her breath and her eyes began to water.

"What'd she say?" He was yelling to the phone that Leo still held behind him. Honestly, he did not like these types of interrogations. It was unlike his style. Despite that, it wasn't him doing it and their patience level was already wearing thin in this foreign land.

" _She said 'kill me'."_ Angel was a little distressed herself on the other side. She was probably feeling the weight of the situation just from hearing it.

"Okay, you better tell me something right now." Raphael threatened. This time, he pressed the blade in the hollow part underneath her chin. With a tad bit more force it would puncture. Her eyes were wide in shock. She stared hopelessly to the shadows as he continued to bark his threats." I'll send you to heaven, I don't even care no more! I'm marked for death so I got nothing to lose!" The chicana on the phone then began to speak in the woman's native tongue. What they did not know was that she was pleading to her to tell him and that the red turtle means business. "That's right Angel, call the lord and tell him he about to get company. Tell me something!" The woman continued to resist. Her heart beat faster and faster as Angel tried even more desperately to get her to speak. Why would a fifteen year old need to hear a person die? "She's almost done! Forgive me for I have sinned!"

"¡Detener!" The woman cried.

"She said stop!" Angel screamed on the top of her lungs. Thankfully their outbursts did not move the blade against her throat. He kept the blade there in the hung silence. The woman licked her lips, breathing heavily as she did and looked helplessly into the amber eyes of the turtle.

"Es en Barbarella, Rua Ministro Viveiros de Castro."

"He's at Barbarella, Rua Ministro Viveiros de Castro." repeated. Donatello took note of it, typing it down in his phone and sent it to his personal computer. Raphael removed the blade and got off the woman. She breathed heavily and brought her chin down. He tossed the shurukin to the side. Mona gave him a nod for letting her go. The brute sighed and returned it before turning around to look back at her.

"We'll drop her at the nearest police station. They'll think she's crazy for what she's seen." He added.

"Thank you, Angel. Leonardo brought the speaker up to his face. Suddenly, his phone was engulfed by the wanting hands of his youngest brother. He kneeled before him.

"Thanks boo." Michelangelo sang. With that, he blew her a kiss through the phone. Leonardo rolled his eyes, but let the friends have their time.

"Anytime Brotha."


	15. Stop Calling Him That

"Oh, you're here." April looked up to see Casey walking into the kitchen of the reptile's home. In her hands, she sprinkled colorful M&M candies over freshly popped, oversized bowls of popcorn. She was ready for a night in with her cotton-combo pajamas as she gathered more M&Ms into her hand. Earlier, she called him to come down and spend a Friday night with her alongside Splinter and Angel. He did not know what they had in mind to pass the time, but seeing what she was doing and how she was dressed, it was easy to figure that it was going to be a movie night. However, he felt out of place coming in in his work clothes. Only a grey t-shirt and denim for the night.

"Yep, yep, yep." His response was short and quick as he leaned against the counter. His hand picked up a single popped kernel from the bowl and threw it into his mouth. April smiled as she rolled the candy bag up.

"Splinter and Angel are in there watching _Get Out_." She informed as she stashed it back away in their makeshift cabinets.

"The rat's here?" The relaxation in his posture disappeared when he jumped off the counter to look past the doorway.

"It is his home." The woman cocked an eyebrow. "And can you stop calling him 'the rat'? He has a name." Ignoring her, the man kept a lookout for the mutant in question. "Why don't you like Splinter?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Casey turned. "He's a rat!" April shushed at him, hunching both of them over.

"Keep your voice down!" She sneered while whispering harshly at him. How rude of him to say such a thing. In his own home!

"Right," His eyes widened, then looked back in their original direction. From where he was, he could not see the two, but the reflected blue light and sound gave him an idea how far away they were from him. "he can probably hear me with those Mickey Mouse ears."

"Really?" The woman folded her arms in the most unamused fashion. Did he really want to get a laugh out of her like that? Probably not. How he said it, he sounded genuinely concerned.

"Fine." He breathed. April put the bowl down back on the counter. "I'm gonna tell you something I'm not too proud of." Leaning her hip on the counter, she crossed her arms in preparation to what he had to say. It was a moment until he sighed again. "Don't laugh or I'm leaving." He warned, looking up from his feet.

"Promise." She stuck out her pinkie finger for him to hold onto. Casey eyed it with a judgmental demeanor.

"Really?" He returned it with as much attitude as April had done earlier. The woman shrugged.

"It works with the boys. I don't break these." Her words were a matter-of-fact. She brought her finger closer to him to link up, but he put his hand up to stop her.

"I'll take your word for it." The woman only shrugged and put her hand down. If he didn't want it, he didn't want it. "I'm-." he stopped himself before he could get it out. He began to speak too soon for he was not yet ready to say. April was patient with him as he fixed up how he wanted to express his concerns. "I'm afraid of rats." It came out small, which was very unlike the proud demeanor of the usual Casey. He gave her a second to laugh it out before he could try to reason with her to see this was not a laughing manner. But, she never did. Surprised, he looked her in the eye. Her blue ones were as stone as they were earlier. There was no smile nor was there a frown. Just a blank slate staring back at them. "You're not laughing."

"I did promise, right?" She replied casually. The man put his hands in his front pockets and fidgeted with them.

"Would you have laughed anyways?"

"No." Her nonchalant answer confused him even more.

"Aren't you gonna say" He cleared his throat and took a couple steps forward. "'Don't you know where you live? How do you function everyday?'?" Casey's voice went deep as he made up a mocking persona. April pursed her lips and shook her head. Jones relaxed and looked on with bewilderment. "Why?" She shrugged.

"Raph's afraid of roaches." April took a small handful of the still-warm popcorn kernels on top of the bowl. Before she downed them, she stopped herself. "Don't tell him I said that."

"No promises." The man smiled for the first time since coming down there. She knew he just gave him some gold for next time's spat with him. Who would've guessed that anyways. He also wouldn't know how April came across that information, but that was a story for another time. "And then when he attacked me-" He quieted back down for the memories began to roll through his mind. That awful memory of seeing his fear that large and then appearing brave in front of those large children… just terrible. Then, he was out of his element, confused and lying on the ground seeing everyone staring back down at him: April looking on critically, the turtles laughing, and Splinter beaming down at him. He shuddered at the thought of it. "I'm not at all fond of him."

April could see the pain in his face. Despite Casey being this hard cop, it was a little unsettling to see him so distraught about someone she truly cared about. Whether or not Splinter took him down, what hurt him was that Splinter physically was a large fear of him and that the image he was supposed to uphold was compromised. One thing April hated the most was being stopped, so when Casey felt that his own masculinity was being stopped by old gender norms to be brave, she knew she had to amend his pain.

"Master Splinter was my pet rat before they mutated." Casey hadn't raised his head, but he was listening. April continued. "He raised those four boys by himself, took Angel and I into their family and acts like the wise grandpa in kung fu movies. He really is a beautiful human being. With a little fuzz is all."

"I'd wanna try but I don't think i'm up for it."

"You aren't being forced to like him." She picked up the popcorn bowls carefully to not drop them. Casey helped out by grabbing the last bowl after she successfully balanced three others in her arms. "Although, it's going to be awkward that you keep coming into his home with thoughts like that." Point taken.

"The least I want it to be is tolerable." He explained, which was a noble thought to have. The man did not need to be forced to like the rat. Only a good relationship was in order for him to work with his sources to put people away.

"SH*T!" They heard Angel scream in the other room. They jumped themselves, but did not spill any precious kernels. April led the way to see what was up. "'Scuse me, Splinter." They heard her apologize before they entered the livingroom. There they were, Angel and Splinter side by side in the dark. Light from the biggest TV illuminated their outlines as it showed two people driving a car.

"What happened?! Anything good?" April jogged in. From behind the couch, she lowered each of their bowls down into their hands.

"They hit a deer." Splinter exclaimed as he took his into his hands.

"Naw, uh uuh! That thing came flying in, it wasn't runnin'!" April could only put it in her lap for the girl was too stunned to take it. Then, she began to rock back and forth with crossed legs, shaking her head. "Nope, I don't like it." Her mantra became of that sentence as the interracial couple got out of the car to check on the animal. It was now dead in the woods, surrounded by brush and golden leaves. "See, and he goes to check on it when he know he in a horror film."

"It's not real." Casey urged her as he took a seat on a nearby bean bag chair.

"Naw uh, nope, historically incorrect." Angel repeated, ignoring him due to the cloud of suspense and disbelief.

"You're really scared of that?" He extended a hand towards the TV that was depicting a bright, clear day for a film that was supposed to be a horror/thriller. Suddenly, Angel began to feel around her. Putting her popcorn bowl on the ground, she began to frantically pat around her. Lifting up blankets and pillows set on the couch, she tore up the comfy spot. Splinter moved his body to the side to help her find whatever she was looking for.

"I can't find it!" She exclaimed desperately.

"Find what?!" Casey asked in a similar fashion. Suddenly, she stopped all movements. Her face was stone cold on him matched with a monotoned voice.

"Where I asked for your opinion." April had to cover her mouth with her hand to hide her smile. Oh, snap! Allowing him to bask in her words, she re-picked up her popcorn bowl and settled down.

The wise rat put a gentle hand on the Chicana's knee. With a blown up face of kernels, she looked at him.

"Be nice, child." He asked of her. She smiled sheepishly, but with a puffed up face, Splinter smiled back warmly. "Look, the police have come." He pointed out.

"Oh yeah." She spoke between chews. The officer had a type of odd swagger as he approached their vehicle."Watch 'em ask for his ID or somethin' 'cause of the boy's color." No sooner than she mentioned it, her prediction came true. "See?!" April patted her shoulder.

"You act much like my children." Splinter spoke as the stereotyping began. "Gone or not, I still get their spirits through you."

"How so?" April asked as she went to take a seat on the floor in front of them. Her back pressed against the couch with the exception of a fallen pillow that she used as support.

"Well, Leonardo-" He teased as he handed a blanket for her to wrap herself around in. Ironically, it was the leader's bed blanket that he handed her. "You try to keep out but have a say as Michelangelo over here" He put his hand back on Angel's knee and shook it playfully. "calls out Raphael." Then, he nodded to Casey. The man was slightly shaken that he was mentioned, but was playing it off to the best of his abilities.

"Been around him so much I be actin' like 'im." Angel's excuse was only a pure fact. One couldn't argue that those two were meant to be the friends they are today. Splinter nodded gracefully.

"I don't me to interrupt our feature any more than I have-." He was nodding towards the movie that was continuing without them. Angel nudged him with her elbow.

"Check this out." In no time, the remote was already in her hand. She lifted her arm up and pressed pause. "Go on." she encouraged. The elder rat smiled warmly at her appreciation.

"I really do appreciate you all coming to see me."

"We like showing up." The Chicana nudged in closer to wrap an arm around his shoulders to embrace him. "Just 'cause I usually come by for your sons and daughters, you just as cool as them."

"All their lives, they've constantly been home," He reminisced briefly. The ghosts of his children growing up played before him. Although this was not the house they grew up in, he could see the toddlers run, children with capes and coloring, and then pre-puberty (which was a weird time for everybody). It warmed his heart greatly to remember how far he and his children had come so far. "but now that they are travelling and saving the world for extended time periods, it does my heart well to spend time with others. Without you, I would be by myself." He paused for a cleansing breath. The two girls beamed, enjoying themselves fully as they heard his story. Although distant, the message was getting to Casey who attentively listened. "How at times I have prayed that the home be quiet, but once it's over a week, I cannot stand it."

"I could imagine how hard it could be." April chimed in. She then hugged his small feet that barely dangled off the edge of the couch. "We love you, Splinter." Angel pulled him in closer.

"Yeah, grandpa." She giggled. Splinter could not help himself to smile as the two girls embraced him. How lucky was he anyways? He and Casey were thinking the same thing. From humble beginnings, he raised four extraordinary boys with hearts of gold from what little he knew from parenting by watching April's own father. His contribution alone warded the Shredder off, kept the New York streets safer, and acts as a totem of wisdom to eight young individuals who love him back all the same. After a few minutes of silence, Casey had to admit that it was very awkward. Upon clearing his throat, the attention was diverted to him. Because of it, he shifted uneasily and brought his gaze directly to the TV.

"Wanna hit 'play'?" He asked shyly. His suggestion jogged the girl's memory that they were indeed in the middle of watching a horror during 'happy hour'. Angel unwrapped herself from Splinter and hit the 'play' button. The officer continued the interrogation with the lead male as his girlfriend tried her best to defend him.

"I feel like she gonna turn on him." Angel pointed at the screen as she put another buttery, chocolate handful in her mouth."Just sayin'."


	16. I Don't Like This

Jet black walls were trimmed in a once hot pink color that faded with age. The business' sign was its name in script that resembled mostly of a Barbie font. Underneath it we're rearrangeable letters that spelled out titles in Portuguese. Finding the place was not so hard, but it was a long trek since they had to find their way through the bustling night near the famous Copacabana. Fortunately, the city was very similar to New York with its architecture, thus they were able to travel the best way they knew how. By rooftop. Settled in a more quiet setting, the mutants lurked around the standoff-ish building. With no windows and no easy access to the place alone, they had to settle for the most practical yet revealing way to see through. The door. It was obvious that it was a business for numerous individuals, both rugged and groomed, came through the front doors. The only problem was that there was a good flow of people coming through. Raphael had pointed out that there was indeed a door that was hidden in the dark due to the absence of light around it.

With the 'ok', the red brute took out his sai from its back sheath. With its small tip, he jiggled the doorknob as silently as he could. Donatello listened in closely to hear it unlock and nodded when he got it done. With the sai replaced, Leonardo jumped in to open the door for he had a ready and steady hand. His intentions were to just crack the door open. Fortunately, there was a chain lock that only let it go so far in case they accidentally swung it open. He gave a slow sigh after the fact.

The room was dark with ominous, neon lights that lit up in particular spots. The main scheme was a luscious purple followed by some blue and red hues here and there. With the dancing music, it looked like a hangout until they saw that there was a stage to their right. It was reflective, but extremely black. Most of the lights danced around the floor of the stage. Catching glimpses of the light, some skimpily clad women danced together in rhinestones. Leo slowly closed the door up until there was a sliver of space open. As he turned his head away, his innocent eyes were wide with scarring and fear.

"Angel didn't mention this." He gulped, still trying to get himself together as he sat down beside the door. It just caught him off guard. Raphael, curious to see what got him riled up, leaned over him to crack the door open again. This time, the rest of the mutant gang wanted to peek in as well. Immediately seeing what was going on, they, too, turned around closely and re-shut the door.

"Naw, I'm out." Raphael shook his head and put his hands up. "Turning around." A hand stopped him after it snagged him by the hem of his pants.

"Stay here." Leonardo commanded. Raphael scoffed in disbelief.

"You're not serious, Leo."

"I don't like it at all, but we got to see if he's in there."

"How?" Donatello chimed in with a shaking voice. Aw, the poor kid.

"Time to test how mature you guys can really be." He said with a newfound confidence. Opening the door some, he tried to scan the dark room. Suddenly, he shut the door. It was almost a slam, which caused the clan to retaliate back at his carelessness. He quieted them with his reasoning. Upon his face, he was severely mortified with widened eyes and a tense posture against the wall. Again?

"You know, on second thought, why-don't-you-two-scope-it-out-first." His attention was clearly on the two mutant sisters as he spoke breathlessly. Yet another scarring on the honor turtle.

"What happened to our fearless leader?" Raphael teased with laughter behind his words. The leader cleaned up his act to roll his eyes.

"It's called 'respect'." He snapped back, growling in between.

Pushing past them, Mona tapped them both on the head to stop their bickering. Opening the door, she watched as the boys looked away. Venus just stood by for only one really needed to monitor the scene. The lizard lady sighed out of boredom multiple times. Seeing such a display unsettled her. Ultimately, this was frowned upon where she came up from, but since she also respected that this was how these girls could make some money, she was torn. Sure, some girls enjoyed this work,but she really felt bad for those who had to come to this as a last resort. She could see it on some of the girl's faces as their expressions gave subtle cues of discomfort. She wished she could intervene on their behalf, but now was not the time. After some minutes, the naked women disappeared and a more modest act began to unfold involving a foreign dancer in traditional cloth.

"There's nothing 'bad' going on. You can look." Mona spoke deadpan to the group. Once again, a little more shyly this time, they all peeked into the room. What they saw was a lot softer. On the stage was a dark skinned, Brazilian woman with short curls. She wore a sky blue rhinestoned brazierre and a long, silky skirt. Her act was belly dancing to Middle Eastern music. The gold accents and chains clinked numerous times as he moved her hips abruptly yet flawlessly. Taking in the show directly was unbelievable. Front row, taking up three seats, were their guys. Cha Ocho, alive, was on one end while another guy sat in the middle. Who could be next to him was none other than the guy they were truly looking for. Dark skinned with a mean mug and a short haircut was the man they were looking for (all thanks to Vincent for sending in a mugshot). Upon being in the front, the dancer paid more attention to them as they sat back and smiled at her.

"Yeah, I can hang out with this guy." Michelangelo slipped out. When he did, there was already a backlash of disapproving looks. He brought his hands up in surrender, but was very calm by closing his eyes and talking smoothly. "I know, I know, 'Don't be an idiot'."

"What's the plan?" Venus whispered, pulling everybody back out except for Mikey who was too infatuated by what was going on inside.

"We bust in and ask Stockman's friend a couple questions." Raphael proposed by cracking the knuckles in his fist. A beat down was going to feel good after they did them dirty.

"Raph, we can't go in there." Leonardo shook his head.

"Why the shell not?" Was Leo just being a hypocrite earlier to stay, or what? "Just shake up the place a little bit without anybody catching us."

"No." He spoke low and firm. "We need more time before the police try to arrive. Its gotta be something a little more subtle than that."

"Someone's gotta go in." Donatello reminded. Leonardo understood, but he wasn't sure how or whom. Meanwhile, Michelangelo was still incognito with his ogling.

"Dang, look at that girl go." He whispered in amazement.

"Mikey!" Donnie whispered harshly. Then, he grabbed him by the shell and pulled him back from the door.

"No, for real, she doin' that belly dancin' stuff! It's insane! How her hips do that?" He whispered that last part partially to himself. "Look!" He urged them to see as he pointed. It got the attention of the others. The only one to delay was Leo, who only rolled his eyes and groaned at his childish ways.

"Mikey, we don't wanna…" His voice trailed off just as his eyes once it hit what Michelangelo was talking about. It wasn't so vulgar of the sorts as the woman dressed in traditionally modern dress and jived with the beat. "wow, that's pretty cool." He had to admit as she popped and did a well done shake down.

"Her outfit isn't revealing either. She almost looks like a…" Before Michelangelo could finish that thought, his voice trailed off. As if by magic, Venus, Leo, and Donatello all had a similar idea. Slowly, their heads turned towards Mona Lisa. The lizard lady was distracted from their stares for the longest time. Raphael was the first to see what was out of the ordinary as the rest of the group looked on at her. A moment passed until she gave herself a break from the dancing woman. When she looked back, she jumped from their stares. Her hand covered her mouth as she uttered something small.

"Do you **need** something?" She asked, quite confused and with a raised brow.

"You need to go in there, Mona. Pose yourself as a dancer to get his attention." Leonardo asked of her. The mere thought that he would suggest such a thing surprised her. Then, by the looks on the others' faces, they were along with it too? Are they serious?

"Do I look like a stripper to you?" There was a lot of attitude in her tone. When she asked, her head bounced as she placed her hands on her rocking hip.

"You will when you jump on the pole." The lizard lady glared at the young mutant. He took a step back. "I'm just saying."

"You'll be fine." Leo assured.

"I'm a mutant." She fired back.

"And human, and you get the upper hand over Venus since she has a shell." He pointed out. It was true. Mona would have an easier time explaining tail than a giant shell merged to her body if the question arose.

"I'm also a minor?" This time, her voice was unsure in a last ditch effort.

"But not by that much." The leader smiled shyly. He was just as unsure as she was. Typical. A sickening feeling in her stomach visited when she took another look inside. Was she really going to do something like that? Putting herself out there like that, all eyes on her, was going to definitely be out of her comfort zone. Then, what was she going to do? Just the sound of the word 'twerk' made her cringe and this was a field where it was highlighted. The red clad terrapin took her gently by the arm. He pulled her back away from the door and spoke for her.

"If she doesn't want to go, she doesn't need to go." Raphael argued. It was then Venus had a weird feeling. It started in her face as a current of electricity tickled her nose. The female turtle flared her nostrils briefly, but when it didn't work, she used her arm to push it down. The feeling subsided some, but it was more comfortable than before. Paying back attention, she saw Donatello reach for Mona Lisa's hand. Gentle and caring, his pulled it out of Raphael's grasp. Mona wasn't the one to be grabbed on, but she was too nervous that she let it happen. Also, who could turn away from those comforting eyes that kept her still?

"Just for a couple minutes so we know where Chapelin and Stockman are." Donatello encouraged. He gave her hand a slow shake as if it would strengthen his grasp on her. "We're right behind you." Then, another hand took her free one. It was Michelangelo this time. She had to admit, behind her concerns, it was pretty cute that the two youngest were trying to comfort the oldest of the group.

"The world depends on this." Venus spoke from behind Raphael. The combination of large brown and blue eyes followed by her sister's reasoning was putting her own thoughts into overload. The lizard lady sighed, chewing on her bottom lip afterward. Mona removed her hand from the turtle boys' grasp.

"I'm going through the back." She turned around bluntly. The lizard with a mission brushed past Raphael whose face contorted into multiple, frustrated scowls towards his team members. However, they were not concerned with him

"Whoa, wait up." The turtle girl stopped her with a hand to her shoulder. Then, she cocked a brow and looked down on her. Mona's eyes followed the hand that was outstretched to her. "Sports Bra." She demanded. Repulsed by what she meant, her sister engulfed her chest in her arms defensively.

"Venus!"

"Hey, you have to sell it. Deception is the kunoichi's true power, but those" The turtle girl pointed directly at her chest. "are a woman's power." Ugh! D**** social norms! It'll be harder in the future, but this was a girl who couldn't wait until a woman didn't need to be sent out as an object for manipulation. Of course, she was trained for manipulating, but this was one aspect she liked to skip.

"Fine." When she pulled the cuff of her sleeve, the brothers looked away as she wriggled out of the tight contraption. They can tell she was really struggling with her disgruntled grunts. Or was that her being upset that she was actually doing this? "You want a world class stripper?" An unusual amount of confidence and baritone came out of the lizard lady. They were still looking away so they couldn't see a 'proud' yet annoyed Mona Lisa put her arms up in a presenting fashion and walk away. "I'll give you 'Kinky Kunoichi'!"

Coming up beside them, the boys relaxed as Venus entered their circle. Mona had disappeared into the back. As promised, Venus looked down at her sister's sports bra confided in her hand. She stared down on it like some type of trophy to get her sister out of her comfort zone successfully. Upon seeing it, Raphael shook his head and rocked his body.

"I don't like this."

"Just a couple minutes. Besides, Mona is a professional. She's gonna squeeze information from that guy." Donnie tried to make him feel somewhat better about the situation. Everyone knew Raphael was just as hard to get out of his comfort zone as the lizard lady.

"Right after she gives him a lap dance." Understandably irritated, the family's eyes turned to glared at the unapologetic orange masked turtle. Shamelessly, his nose was back in the door and smiling at what he saw. The orange tails of his mask were abruptly pulled on. He forced himself not to utter anything as he was pulled back and up on his knees. Hovering over him, Raphael scowled sternly.

"Not helping." He whispered. Then, he dropped him, in which the bottom rim of his shell dug into his large calves. Pouting, Michelangelo muttered.

"Should've just let me dress in drag and do the hula." he offered. Donnie raised his brow in disapproval.

"That's an image no one deserves to see." He commented. Michelangelo gave him a shrug.

"Just trying to help."


	17. Kunoichi

It felt like an hour but Donatello swore they were out there for 15 minutes. Time passed and Mona had yet to jump on the stage. Every so often, Venus would look in to see if her sister was out there doing her job, but there was nothing and no stir about a lizard woman. Boredom easily consumed them. Michelangelo drew pictures in the dirt with his finger. Leonardo followed but with a large stick in his hand. Solid, irregular lines were no match for his younger brother's tallest of the bunch tried to sneak in a nap by leaning against the building. His goggles were over his eyes, pretending to look at something in space. Beside him was the only restless turtle. He growled and mumbled every time he shuffled past someone as his arms and fists flew about him.

"Where is she? This is taking forever!" Raphael wanted to yell but kept his booming throat restrained. Again, the crinkling feeling in Venus' nose returned. She couldn't help but imitate a rabbit as the annoying feeling irked her. It was not the feeling itself making her upset for it was subtle, but it was the fact that it came on with no reason at all. Soon, the feeling began to travel down her neck. As she felt it transfer, she turned to Raphael who was still pacing.

"Why are you so concerned?" She asked. What she was met with were hysterics. It did not bother her as much as the feeling travelled further until it got to her chest. Venus tried clearing her throat; she then lightly tapped her chest as to not draw a lot of attention on her dilemma as she listened to the bigger turtle.

"Are you kidding me? Your sister is going to dance for a bunch of men that **could** endanger her!" He argued. Venus nodded, now noticing that the tingling was beginning to fade away.

"You don't think she's been compromised?" That was a scary thought that dawned on Leonardo. There was no commotion that would alarm them that something indeed happened. Even if they dragged her out the back, they would hear or see her. Raphael groaned, ready to fight someone with his owner up anger. Venus looked back into the room.

"There goes another dancer. Not a mutant." She recorded deadpan. An uncomfortable sigh hung amongst them. The lights on the room began to single out into a single white color aside from the rainbows they have seen. Most of the lights were turned off, all but three spotlights that illuminated the middle front of the stage as well as the right and left back that highlighted two chrome poles on either side. The beginning of Rihanna's _Desperado_ came to play, cueing the next dancer to come on. A black figure appeared who then was slowly revealed with with low light upon her body.

"Guys." The look on Venus' face said it all for she was in shock. The four turtle boys stacked on one another to see what was astonishing her.

Her pink dressings were no longer present. If she wasn't green, you wouldn't believe it was Mona in that sequin-enraged, black leotard. She adorned it with a black sombrero that flattened her hair that was out of its band. Her hair spilled all the way down until it was interrupted by the ruffled tail of black that streamed behind her, exposing the front of her body and showing off her black pumps. Truly, that could have been brainwashed Mona from years ago for they had never seen her look so edgy.

 _Desperado  
Sitting in an old Monte Carlo_

 __The brim of her hat lifted, revealing her large snout to the room. Already, there was a little silent stir that this dancer was muscular, large, and green. Mona could see by the looks on their faces of what they thought of her. Instead of freaking out and turning around, she continued in the name of the mission. Besides, they weren't looking that bad to her. It was probably more of a shock than scare.

 _A man whose heart is hollow  
Uh huh, take it easy_

 __With her stance wide, her arm went across her body and to her waist. In one motion, she gripped the edge of her trailing skirt and unclipped it. Going to the other side and repeated the motion, she gripped the edge in her hands. Fighting a fake bull, she waved the black ruffles around, which now revealed her thick tail behind her. Briefly, she waved it around before throwing the article of clothing aside. It fell gracefully, floating to the ground until it was lifeless a few feet away. Mona moved slow but somewhat modestly. Clearly, she had no reason to go too far and danced more like a dancer and not as a provocative entertainer. Of course, the kunoichi had to put some emphasis on her moves for her cover, but it was nothing too vulgar. The grit of it was her slowly walking forward while popping her chest in and out, dropping her shoulders and rolling her body.

"This is new." Cha Ocho smiled, sitting back into his chair. The man in the middle was more puzzled than pleased. "Is this a new way to bring in some customers? Lizard girl?" He asked as Mona worked herself to grab their attention. It worked. "Exactly how many people are going to like this zoo theme?"

 _I'm not tryna go against you  
Actually, I'm going with you_

 _Gotta get up out of here_

 _And you ain't leaving me behind_

She turned herself around and bowed straight legged. Her body leaned to one side as her hands graced her ankle and slowly crawled up to her leg.

"I'm starting to like it." Xever grinned. The men in the room saw two things. One was the obvious as a woman bent over, the others saw the improvised rip in her leotard so she can comfortably put her tail through.

 _I know you won't, cause we share common interests  
You need me, there ain't no leaving me behind_

Then, she took her wide brimmed hat off her head and tossed it to the side. The hat floated just as easily as the skirt had but to the opposite side of the stage. _  
Never, no, no, just want out of here  
Yeah, once I'm gone, ain't no going back_

With a running start, the lizard lady jumped onto the pole on the right side of the stage. The ground she covered gave her enough momentum to jump quite a height onto it. _  
If you want we could be runaways  
Running from any sight of love  
Yeah, yeah, there ain't nothing  
There ain't nothing here for me_

Mona Lisa literally spun on it. An outstretched hand and a leg curled around the pole as the remaining appendages reached for the outside and gathered wind resistance. When she touched the ground again, she jumped back up. This time, both hands were on the chrome. With her back against it, both of her legs were stretched out in a perfect split as she continued her acrobatics and spins. Nearing the ground, the lizard lady quickly turned herself around. In the same position, she was now facing the pole. Coming closer and closer, she slowed herself down so she can land in a perfect split. For the duration of the song, she continued to dance in her own preferred fashion.

 _There ain't nothing here for me anymore  
But I don't wanna be alone  
Desperado  
Sitting in an old Monte Carlo  
We've both had our hearts broke, uh huh  
Take it easy  
I'm not trying to go against you  
I can be a lone wolf with ya_

To the mutant's surprise, they could see a lot more enthusiasm in the audience's eyes. They were truly buying this spectacle. There were some calls, some that were _ok_ and a few where Raphael was a pinch close to clock them. It did take an orange banded terrapin and his older brother to hold the brute back.

 _Gotta get up out of here  
And you ain't leaving me behind  
I know you won't, cause we share common interests  
You need me, there ain't no leaving me behind_

Mona arched her back and began to fall backwards. Kicking her feet up, she spread her legs and continued to backbend and flip slowly and with control. It was a task for her hair was out and about, so her had to be careful of her hand placement and not yank on her long strands.

 _Never, no, no, both want out of here  
Yeah, once we're gone, ain't no going back_

Mona Lisa flipped and flipped until her legs gripped the pole on the left side of the stage. With all her abdominal muscles, she lifted herself up onto it. Her next move was to continue the motion by kicking her legs up to grab the pole above her and then following her hands over it.

 _If you want, we could be runaways  
Running from any sight of love  
Yeah, yeah, there ain't nothing  
There ain't nothing here for me_

This time coming down, she brought a single leg down as the other came up. Her toe pointed to the sky until she was able to use one hand to grab her ankle and pull it, making it stretch even further. The girl was flexible, but she had to ignore how weird it was to incorporate the pole into her simple stretches. When she let her leg go, she took a breather to observe her surroundings. Throughout her performance, she could hear things other than the music playing behind her. Still, she tried to blot out their words mostly out of keeping her from taking it to offense.

 _There ain't nothing here for me anymore  
I don't wanna be alone_

As she scanned, her eye caught Xever. Now, she thought. With a fake, yet sultry smile, she walked up the stage confidently. The three men leaned in close as the lizard girl swiped her hat and put it back on her head.

 _Dear desperado  
Yeah I don't wanna be alone  
Dear desperado  
Yeah I don't wanna be alone_

Stepping lightly, she approached their table. Her long legs were able to reach it, in which she now stood before them. They smiled up to Mona as she continued to swing one way and then another, sashaying until she targeted her victim: Xever. One foot in front of the other, she stood over him. His smile was very wide as she leaned over to place her hat on top of his head.

"Do you want to come with me backstage?" The man couldn't help how incredibly close she was as the top of her head was just under the brim of the hat. Mona's steady breathing handicapped his mind from thinking clearly and responding her her question immediately.

"You're American." He gasped with enthusiasm.

"Asian, too." She gave him a wink before getting off of him. Her hand motioned him to follow. At her command, the three men all stood up.

"No more," They stopped short as she brought her hand up with a dainty finger pointed at the man she asked initially. "just you." Mona took Xever

"Private party only." He snickered, showing off to his uninvited friends. They sneered at him and sat back down coldly as their ally was led off with the beautiful woman to a back room. The rest of the men hollered and clapped. They were not at all upset that she had not finished her dance but rather congratulated him for being the special one to catch her eye.

While taking her time backstage, she found this particular room and found it to be empty. When coming backstage, she was not alone. Fortunately, she was able to convince the girls (luckily one knew a bit of English) that she wanted to surprise her boyfriend with a dane. Given he was at this club, she furtherly explained that they had an open relationship. The girls were so nice to give up their time to allow her that three minutes of their money. She should send them postcards sometime. The room particularly was a woozy one. There was no other light other than the mellow, translucent colored lighting that passed through the semi-transparent walls but they were also soundproof. Etched in them were floral patterns that changed color with the inner light. Given it was a small room, all that was in there was a mattress covered in pillows and a radio system. Xever was the first one in, followed by Mona Lisa. He couldn't see, but she winked to her family as a signal. Instead, he just watched her lustfully as she closed the door behind her. Seeing the radio system, she tried to buy herself some time by turning on a track. _You Know You Like It_ by AlunaGeorge  & DJ Snake created the mood for the small room. Xever made himself exceptionally comfortable by sitting deep back into the mattress with only his elbows as his support.

"You're a big girl, heh?" He commented with a grin. She turned her head around, grinning all the same. Upon removing her hat, she approached him confidently.

"That's not a problem, is it?" The lizard girl leaned in close, her fists pressing into the mattress.

"Not for a whole lotta woman like you." He winked. "Fresh off the boat, huh?"

"Hm?"

"Your first time doing this?"

"Is it obvious?" She asked honestly.

"Not too bad. Might want to talk to Cielo, though. She can help you out with some moves." Oh, so he must come here often.

"I'll see." The lizard girl stepped off to jump onto the bed. Basically, she sat onto his lap and used her legs to keep her up and from putting her whole weight onto him. She wasn't **that** confident to commit herself that far. "What do you do for a living?" When she asked, Mona hugged him gently. Using her dull claws, she placed her hands underneath his shirt and began to massage his back. It wasn't a dance, but by the way he melted, she knew he didn't mind. Besides, the girl was also pushed up against him and his head was placed in the perfect position to be engulfed in her soft, brown hair.

"I'm self-employed."

"What do you do?"

"You don't have to worry about that." She stopped short, but forced herself to continue. Xever was not going to give her any leverage. So, she relinquished her hands and got up on her knees.

"Why don't you close your eyes?" She leaned over him, allowing her chest to press atop his head. With her assets, the man with his head up was blinded by soft skin while being held against her stomach..

"Aye, mami." He spoke giddy-like. In all comfort, he did not stir when he went her hands wrap around him, then let go, the repeated the motion multiple times. Xever was curious, but not enough to question for he was too occupied in enjoying himself. Then, she curled her head down to where she could come close to his ear. She began to whisper.

"You don't have to speak, Xever. I already know."

"Show's over perv." Xever jumped out of shock when he heard a deep, gruff voice. Suddenly, his body was constricted for it was wound tightly in chains. Mona instantly jumped off of him and dropped her lustful act in which he really began to lose it when a giant turtle dressed like a Blood stood over him.

"The f***!" He screamed out of amazement that he was now surrounded by a bunch of freaks but also that they ruined all his fun.

"Language!" The orange banded one yelled over him. The fact that he said it in a playful tone irked him even more.

"A child's present." Donatello finished the statement calmly as he motioned towards Michelangelo. Leonardo stood close next to him, holding the end of the chain tight. Having been the only one brave enough to go backstage, Venus held Mona's old gear in hand. The lizard girl reached for it, obviously ready to get out of what she was wearing. Understandably, her sister and Raphael stood closer together as she came in between them since she was ready to put them back on then and now. Like a wall, they shielded her from prying eyes.

"What's with the costume change?" He muttered behind himself.

"I had to sell it, right?" She snapped back when she was trying to put her bra back on. Despite his head being turned, she could see his unamused expression. "It's not like I was having any fun out there." He scoffed.

"You almost looked like you knew what you were doing."

"Jealous that you couldn't get it?" Mona fired back with an extra tail tap to his ankle. That got him quiet.

Again, that annoying touch prickled gently starting from Venus' chest and moved timely towards her heart. Following the feeling, she placed her hand on her chest and breathed. Just as it tingled, her brow crinkled as she tried to come to terms with its sudden appearances. If she wasn't mistaken, it seems to show up everytime she's around Raphael. Yet, it never happened before. The turtle girl thought some more.

"Mona?" Venus spoke evenly. "Are you alright?" Facing forward, the tip of Mona's snout came into her vision. Soon, the rest of her body caught up to her for she was now fully dressed. With her hand on top of her sister's shell, Mona was hunkered over while trying to fit her pink ballerina shoes one.

"He didn't touch me or anything." She assured as she laced up. With both shoes on, she insisted to continue agitating the largest turtle. Both matched each other's intensity of their challenging stares.

"We're looking for Dr. Chapelin." The leader announced, redirecting their focus to the mission at hand.

"Sorry." The Criminal raised his brow and sneered. "I don't know who that is." He then followed with a devious smile. Following, his lungs were constricted after Leonardo tugged on the chains a little tighter. In doing so, he pulled ever to where he leaned more in his direction.

"Excuse me, but I think you didn't hear me properly." He whispered. "Where's Dr. Chapelin?"

"I don't know where right now." He replied coolly. The leader was growing impatient. With a scowl on his face, he lifted the chain as an act of intimidation. "On Corcovado mountain! He'll be there within the week!" He admitted. "Chapelin was never straightforward with me despite me saving his a**." There was spite in his explaination.

"His donkey?" Venus asked in a whisper. Raphael shook his head to her; now was not the time to ask. Xever continued.

"He has his mousers hidden in the forest."

"Mousers?" Donatello cut in. "Explain them."

"They're his little robots that he's been using for thefts under the radar."

"The loads of robots at Ruffington's." Michelangelo added matter-of-factly.

"So, you have seen them." Venus quickly changed the subject.

"What's the 'King of Theives' statue?"

"Through some type of X-ray technology, they found the statue. It is said that whoever claims it is granted protection under thefts."

"Already noted." Donatello stated. "He just wants it for that reason?"

"Somewhat. If the legend is true, that is one bonus. The statue is also made of 18K gold. I don't know about you, but I'd like a piece of that too."

"Too bad you will be locked up before you can get to it." Mona Lisa glared at him with the most annoyance.

"So," Donatello looked Venus' way. As he spoke, a small grin formed and he crossed his arms over his chest. "it **is** **not** wanted for it's magical influence." The female turtle caught on quickly.

"Maybe not fully, but still!" She defended while coming forth with an authoritative finger. Donnie gave her a brief chuckle, in which the female turtle tried not to give into her own in order to help her case.

"I'm surprised any corporations haven't dug it up yet or put it in a museum." The purple banded terrapin thought out loud. Xever was rolling his shoulder as a way to make himself a little more comfortable. Leonardo kept a good grip on the end of the chains in case he wanted to wriggle his way out. He stared back up at the terrapin coldly but continued to shift himself.

"Retrieval of the statue is forbidden because it is under Cristo Redento."

"Oh my gosh!" Michelangelo shrieked. Both of his hands gripped the sides of his head. "They're gonna crack Jesus!" Of course! A worldwide figure such as the Statue of Cristo Redento would be forbidden because of its religious significance. Chapelin digging underneath it would not only help him fund his hellish crusade but also soil a powerful symbol.

"We need to get up that mountain!" Leonardo announced. Quickly, Michelangelo took a soft leash he found in a "toybox" in the room (He was mostly shielding himself from outfits and other "safe toys" in there(nothing too extreme ya'll)). He got behind Xever. With one knee on the bed, his took the criminal's hands and brought them close. Xever was mildly inconvenienced as the uncomfortable chains dug into the vulnerable spot of his wrists. Not at all caring, the young terrapin wound up his hands together tightly until it was secured with a good knot. When done, Leonardo unwound the chains wrapped around his body. Xever was relieved that he no longer had to be compressed in between them but now his hands and now his legs were tightly bound.

"Don't worry." Leonardo pushed him over to get him to lay on his side. This way, there was an even slimmer chance of getting up and escaping. Xever groaned out of shame. "We texted our cop friend so you'll be picked up in a couple minutes." The leader assured before opening the door. "C'mon!" He called to his team. Upon going out, Venus mildly complain why no one would explain the "donkey" that everyone seems to have.

"Wait!" Mona, Raphael, and Michelangelo stopped and turned away from the door. "What are you?" Mona Lisa eyed him disrespectfully.

"A Kunoichi." She answered bluntly before making a dramatic exit. As the last one at the door, the orange banded terrapin scrunched up his nose and made an "o" with his mouth as a "buuuurn!" before closing the door behind him.

"Children." Xever laughed to himself as he toyed with his hands. Although bounded, he was able to wriggled one of them into his back pocket. He could barely latch on using his middle and index finger like chopsticks to lift his phone out. It was an older phone for it was simplistic with lifted buttons. This way, there were less tracking abilities. Using muscle memory, he constructed a message that was short and sweet:

" _Move up time. Things after you"_ sent to contact "Chapelin".


	18. Off

Having walked back to their jungle campsite, the family was plum tuckered out. A mutant was sulking and lounging on whatever whether it be on the pile, on a tree branch nearby or spread out on the dirt. They were also hungry, but their exhaustion was to a point that they really did not want to bother cooking their meals (despite them knowing that they should). The campsite also kept quiet. No one tried to go to sleep for they still needed to eat. Instead they bargained that if they rested long enough they would get the energy to actually build a fire and nourish themselves.

Mona Lisa was beginning to feel the aftermath of her pole work. Having one pressed against the vertebrae of your back continuously really sored it and she sought out relief in her own friendly fashion. At the moment, Raphael lay stomach down in the now cool dirt, understandably allowing the lizard girl to stretch out and crack her back by lying along the curve of his shell. He too got a good piece of the deal. Everytime she moved there were pressure points hit due to the extra eight pushing on his shell and onto himself. In regards to the rest of the group, behavior like this between the two had become increasingly normal. In most cases, it was Raphael being still and stoic as Mona did something around him. They had a symbiotic relationship about them, if you will.

Alongside that episode, Venus and Leonardo were having one of their own. With everyone minding themselves, there was tension made by solely eye contact. It started off first with the leader. Just small second of contact with her green irises initiated discomfort. He looked on silently and Venus would catch him. When caught, the male turtle would pass on to some other object. Yet, when she looked away, the male terrapin returned his gaze. A few times he was caught to a point that Venus tried to avoid looking and catching him again to avoid further awkwardness. Her looks were nothing sinister of the sort and neither were his. There was just something that made him want to keep her in his sights although he failed to see how he was making the turtle girl uncomfortable. She hid herself by curling over herself and turning her back to him while sitting in the blankets as he watched her from the other side. To distract herself, she thought more in-depth about the cause of her sudden tingling in her throat and chest. Leonardo could tell that his actions may be bothering her but he couldn't help it. He tried to tell her but she blew him off. Having such a secret and not being able to tell for **years** was really beginning to eat at him. The leader would try to avert his gaze, but his curious blue eyes always found their way back when fiddling with his fingers couldn't keep him busy.

"What are you doing?" Raphael sneered. He picked up his face from out of his arms to seek out the reason for that annoying of someone suddenly breathing heavily with an open mouth. Of course, the offender, Michelangelo, stared bug eyed at him guiltily. In his hands was a piece of tupperware with a prepackaged meal held up to his open mouth.

"You blow on your food to cool it down. So I'm breathing on mine to heat it up." Those who were listening let the silence go on. Mostly, it was due to their tiring that they chose not to react appropriately. With his shell against the trunk and himself perched on a low branch, Donatello poked his head down from the greenery. His movements captured his little brother's attentions. Because of that, the light of his tablet showed some features of his face through the leaves and branches.

"Why didn't you start up the fire?" With minimal visual, one could tell that Donatello was starting to get sassy. He tended to do that on minimal sleep and/or minimal food intake.

"Didn't feel like it." Michelangelo shrugged most carefreely. Then, he continued to breathe onto his dinner.

"Words fail me." Raphael mumbled as he looked away from the stupidity. "Hey." He brought his arms in front of him and pushed himself up. Mona slid down to the ground on her shoulders as Raphael hoisted the rest of her body up. "Gotta get up and make a flame because of lazy shell here." It was his explanation for her to roll off of him. As she brought her legs up and over her body and tumbled off, Raphael got up slowly and grunted. Michelangelo tried to clasp his hands together with his food in between them.

"You're my hero." the youngest whispered dreamily. The older brother growled more prominently. Fire Building was really a chore. Those who never built one had no idea, even if you had matches or a lighter. In order to reduce the risk of starting a forest fire, they always managed to keep their pit small and a good distance away from their food and bedding. Despite being in a forest, actually finding dry wood to burn for long hours were hard to find. Ultimately, one had to gather enough sticks and twigs to make a nest for the paper they were to stuff in the middle and set fire to. Watching Raphael fix their saving grace, his eyes stumbled upon an odd occurrence in their sleeping spot. Venus was keeping her eyes down while Leonardo kept his own low themselves but they were leading towards the female's direction.

"Y'all ok?" His question snapped the two blue turtles from their fixed trances. Both looked lost and confused. The question also attracted attentions from the red banded brute whom was stick collecting and the still stretching lizard lady. Venus uncurled from herself and appeared to be indifferent. Leonardo was playing the same game but with a brief looking around before saying something.

"Yeah, yeah. Cool." His head nodded slowly and rhythmically. It was a prolonged motion as he stiffly licked his lips.

"I don't even know what you mean." Venus replied haughtily with a high head carriage. Mikey did not want to let it go. Something was going on with these two but no one wanted to say so. He shook his head once but then knocked it off and shrugged.

"Guess it was my imagination." He concurred despite all the odds. The awkwardness still hung for all they could hear was Raphael's fire building, the jungle, and Donatello hopping from out of the tree and moving on to the direction to where the 'bathroom' was set up.

Venus stood up tall and strong. She avoided eye contact from everyone but her own feet.

"Mona, a word please?"

"Now, that just makes it suspicious." The young terrapin announced in a comically loud and disturbed fashion. Mikey also threw his flailing hands up high which only put more pressure on the female turtle. She had gotten up and lead on to Mona Lisa. Her sister could only watch as her baby sister took her nicely by the arm.

"Whatever you could mean, this has nothing to do with it." Venus spat back defensively before silently asking Mona to go away with her with her eyes. She had accepted and was genuinely concerned.

"Then why can't you say it out loud to the rest of us?" The two sisters paused fast. Venus was utterly annoyed that he was drawing so much attention on their private moment and keeping it on blast. The female terrapin swiftly spun around with a hard face.

"Ok." She challenged the young one with a menacing voice and posture. Then, she turned quickly to Mona Lisa. Her tone was rushed and sharp in the disguise of a casual conversation. "So my egg is starting to develop but I've been feeling a sharp pain that starts here" She prodded the middle of her abdomen. "and goes all the way down-."

"Aight, aight" Leonardo and Michelangelo both waved their arms in an 'X' motion, got up and averted their eyes before she could continue her story and her trailing finger.

"Leave." Mikey now insisted. Satisfied, Venus raised a triumphant brow and lead Mona off and away from the male terrapins.

"If you pregnant, I ain't raisin' no babies!" Michelangelo called out to her. Soon, a medium sized bud of a plant was hurled towards his head.

The night time crickets would hush when their feet would crush the fallen leaves underneath them. Venus used the light of her phone screen to illuminate their way through the thick vines and trees. Whatever Venus wanted to say, she sure did not want any possible outside ears on the subject. The "glow" of the campsite faded dimly as they trekked into the forest. The direction she was heading in was that of the creek they would visit for their showering. It was a light trip, but the extra walking made the lizard lady irritable. She groaned each time she had to push a vine or small branch out of her way when her little sister led to way. Venus could hear her and could feel her frustrations but she had to pull her away. Like a good sister, she knew her sister's triggers and peeves of which this was going to be a conversation about one of them.

They had arrived to the river who flowed so smoothly in the night. Not a thing was in sight. Placing her phone face up on the ground, only a few feet were visible, showing the muddy bank and a green patch of glimmering water. The female turtle held herself in her arms while looking out to the nothingness.

"What's going on?" Mona strided up beside her. She wanted her to look square in her face, but the terrapin would rather continue looking out. Irritated, Mona grasped Venus' shoulder and pulled it back. The turtle stumbled but did not fall. There was no sign of discomfort as she looked her in the eye. Mona did not look upset either, but Venus was trying her patience. "I know it's not an egg issue because you know that's how they always feel."

"I just needed a different excuse to get away."

"What for?" Venus took the time to chew the bottom of her lip.

"Mona," She placed a hand on her dark green shoulder. Her sister looked down at the gesture then back to her sister's concerning eyes. How the mood was set up, she was genuinely scared. "are you ok?" Mona calmly grasped Venus' hand, taking it off her shoulder and cupping it in her hands.

"Are you ok?" Venus did not appreciate her sardonic demeanor. "'Cause I'm fine." The blue banded turtle reached down as she spoke. There was a thick twig beside her feet. She fixed herself to sit down beside it and took it into her hand. It was filled with dirt. With a tap the dusty particles fell from the wood.

"I do not know." She tossed it into the water. There was no sight of it and the sounds of the forests muffled its plop into the water. "Sometimes when you're around, I get these weird feelings."

"What kind?" Her tiredness dissipated now that she was a little more engaged in this conversation.

"Like, my emotion sense is picking up something. I just can't pinpoint it."

"And this has to do with me… because…?" Her fingers spun in a slow ellipse that went at the same speed as her words.

"It usually happens when I'm around you." Venus looked for another piece to throw, but her thoughts got in the way of her search. "And lately, I've been getting it from Raphael too." She stopped and stayed still. Mona waited for her to say something new for she had nothing for a response. While she did, she brushed her foot along the soft grasses nearby. "So I'll ask again, are you ok?" Before Mona could answer, she added. "Or do you know if he's going through something?"

Mona stopped what she was doing and placed a hand on her hip. With how far she was, there was a soft glow from the phone light.

"I can't speak for him but I'm perfectly fine." She answered. "And why don't you ask him. I'm not him."

"You really think Raph's going to open up?"

"Right." She cringed some, remembering who they were talking about. "Work at him and see what happens."

"Do you know how long that will take?"

"Right again." Venus was on top of it today. The salamander mutant pursed her lips and looked out in the darkness, thinking of another solution. Venus studied the crinkle in her brow.

"I've been feeling a new aura from you."

"Really? Is it stress related?" Her tone was low and impassive.

"You just said there was nothing wrong." Venus threw a small rock into the water.

"I meant stress from how obscure this mission is." Mona stated matter-of-factly with a simper expression. Venus rolled her eyes and shook her head, but in a smiling, lighthearted way. Quickly, she veered back to the real question. "Bits and pieces weren't adding up, then they were, then they weren't, I had a short stripping career…" She paused. "by the way, don't tell sensei." she asked politely in a deep voice. Venus blew careless air.

"You're an adult now, he doesn't care." She assured. Mona shook her head, smiling but in disagreement.

"I don't want him to know about it." As accepting and somewhat "carefree" Splinter was, that was just one piece of her life story she'd rather not spoil to the old rat. Venus bounced her head some, taking in her request.

"Well, yes there is something different." She continued on with their previous conversation. "Yes, stress is very much present but I also feel…" The tip of her tongue pressed against the bottom of her top-front teeth. "Tense. Like, a lot of tension yet it only shows up in key situations." Venus switched up her sitting position. Now, her legs were tucked underneath her body and was sitting on her knees. Slumping back, she used her elbow to support herself up and perched her head on her hand. Like so, her first knuckles pushed up her bottom lip. She really had to figure this one out. Mona wasn't helping her get anywhere, but that was a little what she expected. Mona usually hates talking about herself that it's practically a peeve. Yet, this was something affecting Venus. It may not be visible but she'd rather not get these sensations that she does not understand. Granted it sounds selfish but the nature of her senses are too peculiar and frequent to pass up. Also, could it be an indicator of something serious? It was better to not take the chance. "Are you going through something with someone on the team?"

"No." The girl in question stepped up to the light. Venus' phone casted shadows above her eyes and forehead, only illuminating key parts of her body and underneath her neck. Venus had to admit, it was a little spooky for the both of them to be in the pitch black and seeing something like that. The girl was disgruntled, eyeing her down disapprovingly with her folded arms. "and I don't believe something like that is your business."

"I'm only here to help." She replied in a blithe manner, but the other mutant was not as amused.

"Well don't." She snapped. "Honestly, there is nothing wrong with me or anybody else." It was apparent in her voice that she was becoming irritated and impatient again, and Venus didn't need senses to know that. Mona continued to stare down, locking eyes with her sister who was trying to dig for answers or for more questions to get those answers. The turtle girl brushed the ground with her hand, collecting dirt and pebbles into individual grooves in a cropper's style.

"Is it Raphael?" Mona groaned loudly, rolling her eyes and unfolding her arms as her sister attempted to talk over her. "I mean, you two have a past for being enemies" she pointed in one direction and then used her other hand to point in a different direction, crossing her arms in the motion. "and then friends the next minute." Her hands went down to cradle her knees into her chest. Mona couldn't see it, but when her sister set her chin between her knees, the turtle was trying not to smile. "As I think about it, that type of behavior is very strange to me." The lizard lady was glitching out, coughing hysterically and trying to comprehend the way she 'foreign-ized' their behavior.

"You and I" She pointed to the both of them in a fast action. "are like that to each other. I really just want to leave" she said honestly, wiggling herself loose and calming back down. "and if I do I'll treat you like this didn't happen the next morning."

"But this is all the time." She exaggerated. "At one point when we're all around, you're bickering and then when you're 'by yourselves', everything's peachy again."

"That's what friends do, Venus. They get on your nerves" She did the finger-crossing-paths motion again. Venus still tried to keep a blush down as she watched her sister try to prove a point that they both knew that was not there (well, not in this case anyway). "and then you watch 'Wild N Out' together." By now, Venus was snorting with laughter. So hard she tried to contain it but she just couldn't help herself. Then, Mona disappeared from the light. Backing away and into the darkness she went. Venus could not care until she heard the crunching leaves crunch farther and farther away.

"Where are you going?" Venus called. She wiped her eye with her forearm.

"To the camp," Mona called, spinning around and continuing to walk backwards. "where our family are." She added. Her sister took head, smiling, and then pushed herself up. She'll won't be walking back by herself for long. It was pitch black and Mona left her phone at her desired destination.

For the duration of the girl's talks, the three boys left were stuck watching Raphael fix up a fire. There was only silence as they let his fire-making entertain them. With a 'teepee' made up of sticks and a paper core, Raphael took out a lighter and tried to get the paper to catch it. The paper used was cheap magazine print, which was slightly trickier to light than normal paper. When a piece caught a flame, he moved around the fire to ignite a new flame along the base until there were enough to come together collectively and burn with a favorable glow. Still sitting on the ground and at the base of the fire, Raphael stared uncomfortably at the leader. Leonardo's brow crinkled as the fire began to pick up, brushing the bottoms of Raphael's eyes spookily.

"I will knock the shell out of you." He threatened with a even attitude.

"What?!" Leonardo exclaimed. Raphael sat up more, exposing most of his face through the medium flame.

"Stop staring at her like she needs to feel sorry for what she did." Oh, he was talking about **that**. When Leo told those two what happened when he and Venus were alone, he thought it was the end of it. But noooo. They just had to keep egging him on about his personal issues.

"I was not! It was…" His voice cracked when it changed from the higher to a lower octave. Just like his voice, the upright and flaring body posture her carried slunk down to where he tried to hide his face in his hands. "just really awkward eye contact." Ugh! What was he doing?! He's the leader dang it! Get it together, man! Michelangelo, now with a stick in hand clumsily stabbed a piece of already cooked chicken on it, came to sit down beside his down brother. Using the side of his brother's body for support, he leaned back and fire-roasted the cold fowl.

"Bro, I know what happened between you and V was bad-."

"But she put you in your place. You know that, right?" Raph cut him off, but only for the better (and he somewhat finished Mikey's statement). "I ain't saying to abandon all hope. If I remember what you said clearly, she wants to maintain visual on the job at hand. When this is all over, y'all can express feelings or whatever the shell Y'all doing." How he said it sounded careless, but knowing Raph, it really meant something. Leonardo listened, but he was still troubling. Irate with himself, he groaned, throwing his head back only to have the bottom of his cranium caught by the rim of his shell. They have done it many a time to the point where it did not bother them. There, it rested as he closed his eyes and breathed. The sounds of the jungle along with crickets and the fire really cleansed the soul for one to do some thinking. That was until there heard a little yelp from the forest.

Although a little high in pitch, it was recognizable next to a big thump. All three brothers raised their heads and turned to the direction of the noise.

"Don, bro!" Mikey shouted. He pulled the chicken that caught a flame on its tip. The young turtle blew it out. "You ok?"

"Yeah…" His totally unreal and voice-cracked response answered back to their call. "I just… tripped… on the tree."

" **The** tree?" Mikey asked, although concerned a smile cracked onto his face. As the information processed, the other two brothers couldn't help but try to keep their laughs from reaching the ears of the techie turtle. He answered back defeatedly.

"Yeah."


	19. Impatient

The sun had yet to show its face through the forest, giving the flora and fauna an indigo hue. The fire was only lit by the small specks of hot embers that no longer cackles or emitted smoke. All the big lugs were sleeping like bunnies, well, most of them. Repetitive beats of buzzing vibrated against one's plastron. Normally a heavy sleeper, Raphael could not ignore the sudden movement hiding underneath him. In order to make it stop and keep from disturbing his family, the large terrapin carefully lifted himself. The blankets over him moved with his bod and dragged along others. The ones affected by it moved some but did not wake up. When they stopped moving, Raphael continued much more slowly until he could pull up his phone that he mistakably left in the folds of the blankets. Knowing well, he squinted his eyes and kept the phone low to his body to turn down the brightness. Once it was dark and grey, he took no time to figure out who was on the other end when he answered it. Out of respect for those around him( surprising, right?) and just from his own personal tiredness, he answered with a muffled moan into his pillow.

" _Get your shell up. I'm at the water."_ That voice woke him up. The quick movement s made a shuffle, but no one else was disturbed by it. Whipping his top half up and around, he saw that where Mona should be was no longer inhabiting her. Before he could ask, the mutant girl had already hung up.

No one at the camp heard the biggest beast rise and move away from them. On his way, he yawned silently while also rubbing his eyes and avoiding to run into anything that may ruin his day. Soon, the running water ambience began to catch his ears. With his eyes beginning to clear, he moved more fluidly and less like a zombie. With the final piece of the jungle to get through, he got to the clearing. The water showed no light but had a shadow to guide its own movements downstream. To his far right, she was there. Mona had not yet see him come. Sitting down, she stared at the river with her arms wrapped over her extended knees. She did not wear her mask and it appeared that it was not with her at the moment. Soon, she acknowledged his presence and stood up. Raphael smiled as he approached her.

"Alone again." He gave a sigh of relief. Outstretching his arms, he made a grab for her and pursed his lips. Before he could get there, the lizard lady smoothly pushed his cheek to get his head to face the opposite direction and walked past him. "Whoa, curve!" He laughed despite Mona not turning around and laughing with him as well. "Can I know why?" Mona Lisa crossed her arms and turned to face him. His smile dropped when she had that serious look in her eye. So much for a 'good morning'.

"How long do you expect to keep this up?" She asked. The turtle grunted and swayed head a few times for a stretch.

"Not too long. These kind of games get boring real quick." He admitted. Upon that thought, the river seemed very pleasing to him. Raphael unbuckled his shoulder pad and unclicked the belts that supported his shell. They hung around his waist after unclicking the ones that were wrapped around his shoulders.

"I meant this whole secret we have going on." Oh, this again?! The big brute stood dumbfounded for a minute to get his thoughts right. Mona's features were less hard and more upset and concerned. She expressed more as a sad puppy holding herself rather than the tough cookie she always upheld. Raphael untied the cotton rope belt around his waist and pulled off his pants for the seatbelt straps to fall on top of them. He drummed up a response as he pulled off his forearm armor, gloves, and wraps around his hands and legs.

"I don't know. What year will Kanye be president?" He joked as he tossed his gear aside. Mona was not amused. To avoid the awkwardness, the turtle thought it in his own best interest to jump into the water with a running start. The splash was loud due to his understandably large body. As the water went airborne, the lizard lady sat back down in her original position. Raphael had resurfaced. The tails of his mask were pulled away from being adhesive to his body and put in the water to float alongside him.

"Venus almost caught on." Mona continued. "Do you know how hard it is to convince someone with emotion sense that you're **fine**?" She stressed at the end despite her cool delivery. The red banded turtle cupped water into his hands and splashed it on his face. He rubbed it in vigorously a few times to wake him up.

"Is that what happened last night?" Mona's brow crinkled.

" **Yes**!" She almost jumped up, but refrained by only pressing her hands into the ground.

"Easy, easy." He put his hands up in a hushing motion.

"No! I'm sick of this!" She leaned forward. "Hiding? From our family?"

"This isn't the first secret we kept from them."

"The last one stopped you from doing something stupid." Being the Nightwatcher, stupid. "This is just keeping us from actually being happy." Noted. "You've ever heard 'Happy Wife, Happy Life'?"

"Well, you're not that…" He was going to finish his sentence but he sucked his lips in upon seeing her cold stares. Raph slowly turned halfway, anticipating a harsh response from the already teed off woman.

"The principles apply, Raphael." She spoke from her throat, low and slowly. Then, she shook her head and pointed a finger at her chest. "Mama ain't happy."

"D*****!" He exclaimed while flapping his arms once violently in the water. Mona relaxed her posture again and returned to a blank expression. Finally, he was going to take this seriously. "Why is everybody being so… uh.. Weird!" Not the turn she was expecting, but, alright. His soaked hands pulled up his brows as he pulled his forehead back. "You're upset with me not telling the family and keeping us undercover and Leo's acting he's freaking two years old!"

"What's wrong with Leo?"

"You don't need to know." He waved her off.

"This family talks a lot in private." She returned with her audible mutters.

"There's some things that aren't anybody's business."

"I want them to know this business."

"Well I don't, in this partnership. Not yet." Gah! Why was this so hard? Because he's a mutant, partially. But there's billions of people who have gone through this same process, the only difference is that they are not green (Some animalistic, but not green). The brute kicked his feet up and allowed himself to float on the back of his shell. He was stagnant unlike the river water.

Mona kept still on the shore, gathering her own thoughts as well. To clear her mind, she tried not thinking about it for the spur of the moment and rather let it wander to the sounds and sights of the groggy forest. The sun was still not out yet there was now a pink outline to the high treetops. She imagined whatever horrid scenario Raphael could possibly come up with. Disapproval from his brothers, her sister, the disapproval of their father. Someone would probably think that a couple on the team would only create more liabilities. Or, the fact that despite them being totally unrelated and only being brother and sister for 3 years was still wrong if they were dating. Perhaps, just the everyday reminder that they do not go well together and if they were to break up, it causes more struggle and strain. Although, Mona felt it in her heart that these were less impossibly true about the family, but she could not force those ideals on Raphael.

"I get it. I understand it. I respect how you see it, but it's only going to get harder sooner or later. Whether or not they'd approve, they'll never forgive us once the months and years start rolling by." She paused. " **If** they come."

" **If**?" He asked deadpan, but still contently enough to continue floating and keeping his eyes closed.

"C'mon, you never know." She answered truthfully. "I don't feel that way right now, but I'm just getting frustrated by this and the mix with this mission." Mona released her knees and fell back into the ground. Her body pulled her hair, in which she removed it from underneath her until it was comfortable to lay back down and create an ugly hair display. With her hands over her stomach and getting over the dash of blood rushing to her head, she imagined a serenity while watching the sky behind the canopies. While watching, she heard the noise of water droplets and tiny streams falling back into the water, but she did not care to see where it was from but could only guess that Raph stood up from his floating.

"How about when it's all over?" He slowly swam over until he washed up on the bank of the river. He felt like a beached turtle as the small patch of sand scratched the plastron he slid up on. "We solve it, kick some shell, then give them the news." Mona sat up to his resolve.

"That's decent, Raph. But do you promise?" He nodded slowly.

"I promise." Mona Lisa turned her body over until she too was on her stomach but remained in the grass area.

"Pinkies." She demanded while presenting her pinkie finger to him. The large turtle cringed.

"I hate that word." He muttered. However, he put his smallest finger out and interlocked them with hers.

"Good turtle." Mona praised, giggling at him while shaking their still joined fingers around.

"Good enough for one planted right here?" Beaming, he used his other hand to tap his cheek. Mona used their interlocked hands to pull herself closer to the bank.

"I got a better spot." She assured. Both gave a small laugh as they closed in the space between them.

"OOOOGA BOOGA!" Both jumped out of their minds. Hands no longer together, Mona stood up quickly. Her stance was wide and hands ready for a fight. The water around Raphael turned into wild waves as he too got up in split second timing. However, they were more disappointed that it was someone they knew rather than a killer. Out of the blue, there came an orange banded terrapin dressed in fruitiful drag. "La Cucaracha, La Cucaracha, ba da da da da da daaaaa!" He sang, shaking his body that made his sad grass skirt twirl. On his head was the most bootlegged 'Tutti Frutti' hat they've ever seen. A plastic bowl was tied down over the top of it and around his head with a scraggly piece of rope with a single apple, a bunch of bananas, and an assortment of the flower necklaces he had made bunched up into a cringey arrangement. Following behind him was Leonardo, who walked slow but laughed at his brother who was making a larger fool off himself while dancing and singing obnoxiously. "Ha! Y'all should've seen your faces! They looked like-." He recreated them comically with ugly expressions. "That's one for the books! How would you describe your expression? You looked like a cow caught in the headlights."

"I believe the term is a deer caught in the headlights." Leonardo corrected.

"Yeah, I know that." He dismissed him. He knew Raph looked more like a bulky cow rather than a tiny deer. Speaking of Raph… "Nice undies, Raph." He nodded to them, playfully biting his lip and bouncing his eyebrows. The terrapin in question looked down briefly.

"Forgot my trunks and I'm too lazy to go get them. Is that so wrong?" He defended. Mona smiled and raised a brow at the turtle behind her. Michelangelo put his hand out and let his wrist drop it.

"Not in this world of…" He struck a fierce pose "Fashion!".

"What's up, fruit basket?" Raphael asked, keeping the conversation away from him and towards yet another weird display of his youngest brother.

"Mikey wants to go see the festivities." Leonardo explained, putting a hand over Mikey's shoulder. The young one bounced like a puppy. "Vincent on the last call informed us that tonight was Carnival. It was her idea to let us take a break and enjoy it." The youngest cupped his hands together, keeping it close to his face like he was making a wish.

"I'm imagining a lot of foreign food, foreign music, foreign dancers, foreign babes… WHY ARE WE STILL STANDING HERE WHEN MY FUTURE WIFE IS DOWN THE MOUNTAIN? COME ON!" He screamed most of their ears off as he whipped around to grab Leo by the straps and shook him violently. Leo grabbed Mikey's straps back to stabilize the excited child.

"It's going to be a colorful, **cultural** " he eyed the young one who toned down his demeanor."festival that i'm sure we'll dearly enjoy. The party goers also wear outrageous costume,: His eyes motioning towards the still beaming yet less eccentric turtle gave hints as to why he was dressed as so. "and as Donatello suggested, if we dressed up just a little like Mikey we're going to get looks but not of fear but fascination of our creativity. You guys should go."

"I've yet to clean up." Mona replied. "Give us a second and we'll spend the whole day down there, yes?" Michelangelo gave an ugly giggle before becoming demanding.

"Then hop to it! I wanna see babes!" Then, he turned back around to Leo. Just as he thought, he was still disapproving of his incentives. The young one toned back down. "And, and culture. Especially culture."


	20. Rio

Man, Michelangelo sure couldn't wait for this adventure. The turtle would not let a single one a moment to forget all the time they were wasting lollygagging around by insufficient actions like "eating" or "changing into more festive wears". He was on a mission! A mission of his own! Donatello insisted they would be alright to go out into the crowds and be seen by others. Just like Mikey had done at the Halloween parade a while back, people will be more impressed by their costume than be alarmed by the large six-foot mutants walking amongst them. It definitely took a lot of push for Leonardo and Raphael to go with it, but they finally caved in. Although, they had to admit that it was weird to emerge from a National Park as a bunch of reptiles in swim trunks and suits, but not too many people seemed to be judgemental. They were all having too much fun celebrating.

"Are we really going to a party full of video vixens?" Mona commented as they walked their way through the streets. Already they found some more lewd parties that made Michelangelo act like a dog ( Leo already had to drag him off to keep from drooling), but Donnie had other plans for them (much to the latter of the party's wishes).

"I taking you all to the more 'softer' side of the festival." He re-explained for certain. Where they were currently, the people were mostly beachgoers taking pictures with the people in costume. When they set eyes on the large band, they were struck with awe, wonder, and confusion. Naturally, there were a few who asked to take a picture with them, but understandably they had to decline. Their excuse? Undercover police-people. That kept them off their backs and on their best behavior. "Every neighborhood, or 'blocos' has a different theme for a block party. I would have taken you to the superhero one but I thought in **all** our best interests to experience something a little unusual yet familiar."

"What theme is it?" Venus asked as she held a red straw between her fingers. For an american dollar, a vendor allowed her to purchase a kid-friendly Pineapple Sangria (a decent scan from Donatello proved it safe for consumption). Mona Lisa pointed at the colorful cup, in which her generously lifted it up to her for a sip.

"I kept us in a pretty neutral space considering some 'warring' on what should or should not be seen or done in a Sambadrome bloco."

"The theme, Donnie." He received a quick shove on the shell by the biggest brother before he could ramble on. Don smirked because he was agging them on on purpose. While walking, they began to notice a pattern. The further they walked, the more concentration of people dressed up in wild editions of animal costumes. Donnie waited for someone to say something, but these kids needed a guide. Fortunately, they were coming towards a denser crowd. As solitary beings, it was a little overwhelming. People were watching something. THey hung in the back at a distance. Despite being as tall as they are, they were far back enough to not see the commotion. Venus decided to be the brave one by taking Michelangelo by the hand and dragging him inside. In the name of both curiosity and the fear of losing them, the rest of the family attempted to follow their path. Before then, it was a small twitch of social anxiety by walking amongst so many eyes and bodies, now they were rubbing elbows. Being as big and inexperienced as they are, the group (aside from the already social Mona) kept their arms over the people's heads. They waved them around as they tried to avoid them, like tiptoeing past a colony of small animals that you made sure you would not hurt a single one. It wasn't hard to spot the two large 6-footers in the crowd but it sure was getting past them. On the plus side, anyone who wanted to fight them will most likely back down due to their size. Truly there was a lot of apologizing. Those shells aren't fully under their control and they could feel some unfortunate ones unexpectedly hit them.

Low and behold, there wasn't some type of battle, but rather comradery. Everyone was cheering and going wild for the people dancing together. All were in intricate animal costumes with a Sambadromo flair as they danced to the native music on the mosaic pieces of the cemented walkway. Their jaws dropped. What were they supposed to focus on? The fast pace moves? The beat of the music? The jingling jewelry or the fluttering feathers they adorned upon themselves? It was a thing of beauty.

"'Beasts of the Jungle.'" He finally answered. The crowd went wild as people wanted to join in the party, in which the dancers were more than glad to have alongside them. There was not much room to all fit on the platform due to the outstretched wings, feathers, and fins that took up a lot of space, but the crowd responded well and would push back to give it to them. There was a noticeable commotion behind them. When Leonardo turned, a woman dressed as a seahorse pushed past him with a smile and jumped into the fray. One of her large shoulder fins hit the mutants in the face. The woman took notice and turned to say 'sorry' in her native tongue. However, Michelangelo couldn't feel more in love.

"What beautiful culture. Beautiful, sexy culture!" He cried to himself, biting his lip and bringing a fist up to his face. The leader then half-turned to Donatello. His hands were in his hips with his head down. Oh man, that's some down-low fatherly lecturing stance.

"You said 'softer' side." His upset state was masked by a cool stature and calmed tone.

"I also said I was a Jedi when we were 8." Donnie smiled. "You guys fell for both times." Leonardo was still not amused. In order to help him lighten up, Donatello took a step forward and invited Leo in by spinning him around to watch the festivities with a friendly embrace with his arm over his shoulders.

"We can still have fun without all that mess." Venus jumped in. She too, wrapped an arm around him on the other side of his body. As they watched, she cocked her head to the side. "Where did that stigma come from anyways that it had to be truly wild for actual fun?"

"Party animals, my people!" Michelangelo hollered with outstretched arms. "Aye aye aye mami!"

"Shhhhh!" Raphael yanked back on his arm to make him stop.

"Stop being an animal." Leo advised with his 'dad' tone.

"Can't stop what you already are, and this cat is ready to pounce."

"You are a turtle, Michelangelo." Venus added. The young turtle threw her a tired look.

"Work with me?" he yearned for understanding.

"Respect these girls," Donnie asked. "Sambadromo is literally a competition between Samba dance schools. They've worked way too hard in the studio to be torn from their fun and freedom for some random people to call and ostracize them." Michelangelo gave him a smile with a slight cringe while closing his eyes and spreading out his arms.

"Nobody said nothing about Ostrich-sizing." He then put both of his hands on his chest with an apprehensive expression. "I just wanted to give them the best of my love and appreciation."

The samba they were dancing to began to fade. Soon, the dancers began to slow down. Some, although laughing and enjoying themselves, had moved on. Some of the crowd pieced away as well. The movement then replaced the front crowd with the back crowd and some newcomers. That, except the mutant family who debated silently on whether or not to prt and explore more. However, a familiar beat of the drums got the crowd going again. Then, Michelangelo lit up.

"I know this one!" He gasped with an ugly, surprised look. Suddenly, the orange banded turtle barrelled through to get into the clearing. More dancers followed behind him, pushing past the mutant family to participate in V.I.C's old dance 'Wobble'. Feeling the beat, the turtle was feeling it as he walked his way into the line dance. He kept himself between two girls dressed as a peacock and a butterfly who were having as much fun as he was as they laughed and danced. "Aye! Wobble it, wobble, girl, wobble it!" He chanted as they danced along with one another. "Leo, c'mon!" He shouted, waving him in. "Get the twerk team out here!" The family all laughed and smiled towards the leader whom had crossed his arms and kept to himself.

"Naw, I'm good."

"What? You scared?!" He challenged as he moved more intensively. "C'mon! Coooome on! I know you want to!" The blue leader shook his head.

"I don't need any more attention drawn to me."

"Too late!" Raphael gave him a mighty push into the fray. Leo was sent forward. He couldn't stop himself until he was right before the feet of the dancers. A male parrot grasped him on the arm along with the aid of a female sheep. With a heave, the two aided in helping him up and pulled him in with them. Putting him between them, the turtle was stuck as those around him were getting down to the line dance. Practically forced, the turtle began to bounce awkwardly and move slowly despite his expertise with the dance.

"Loosen up, fearless leader." Michelangelo called, who was not too far away from him. The longer he was left in there, the more comfortable he became. The leader then began to be himself amongst the crowd, dancing like the fool he was. Although the rest of them kept on the sidelines, the mutants couldn't be more entertained than watching the 'hometown twerk team' go at it in the brazilian square.

As fun as it was, the mutants needed to move on from the dancing to explore more of the festival. When 'Twerk Team' had to leave, the dancers and some of the crowd were disappointed to see them go. They were so entertaining. At the moment, they all stopped to see a caribbean drum line perform with an out-of-state- fire dancer. While they watched, Michelangelo slipped away to get himself a virgin Pineapple Sangria after getting a taste of Venus'. He held the cup close as he slurped on the straw. Suddenly, a man shuffled to get to him. Michelangelo was on alert, instinctively getting his legs in a ready stance. He stared at him wide eyed as he spoke between breaths.

"Fantasia incrível! Você está associado a um flutuador para esta noite? Temos alguns espaços abertos para peças tão incríveis que irão bem com o nosso tema da selva!" The orange banded turtle clicked his tongue three times.

"Inglés?" He asked shyly.

"Not very good." The man said with little disappointment. Then, he pointed to the herd of green beings. "Would they want on float tonight?" he asked. Mikkey stopped drinking immediately and hunched over on his level.

"We get to ride on one?!" His stated in disbelief. The man had the best smile.

"Yes."

"DUUUUDES!" He screamed without warning. Then, he remembered the man and quieted down. "Yes! We would! Thank you!" Mikey nodded and shook his hand vigorously. "DUUUUDES!" He shouted again. The family took their eyes off the show for just a second to see an excited turtle next to a native man. They rushed to his side. "Now ya'll wanna hear me!" He bounced sassily and rolled his head.

"We never did." Raphael commented as they approached with curiosity. Understandably, they eyed the man standing beside Mikey.

"This dude's letting us ride on their float tonight!" He exclaimed.

"How exciting!" Venus bounced while the rest of the family agreed with inaudible excitement. But of course, there's always that one...

"I don't know…" Leonardo had his arm crossed over his chest. Everyone slowly turned in his direction and kept silent. He tapped his toe. "Being exposed in front of everyone is not exactly part of our job description." Yes, they agreed to expose themselves in front of hundreds, but now they were going to take the risk of being in front of thousands live and millions by the TV coverage. They were barely comfortable in front of the smaller crowds, how could they think they could take on the big ones like that? He's seen the movie _Rio_. Sure, it was a cartoon, but the festival hype shouldn't be that far fetched from it.

"Who's really gonna notice?" Donatello giving his input was always the best option. He was the most logical and Leo normally sides with him. They really hoped today was one of those days. The leader jerked his head to the side, still uneasy. "People will just see us as costume and those who know about us can't hurt us. We're on a different continent."

"Trajes!" The man tugged on Mikey's arm. As he pulled him away, the rest followed him. "Trajes agora para que possamos estar preparados para qualquer coisa!"

"English would be nice!" Mikey was hesitant at every step as he pulled him towards a setup of tents. There were other people there in typical Samba costume coming in and out of the tents. As the man escorted them in, in the clearing of the surrounding tents, there were a could coat racks of cloth, accessories, and feathers.

"Ooooh! Costumes!" Mona jumped in and started tearing through the racks with Venus.

"I love it!" Venus exclaimed as she held something soft against her cheek. The man that let them in was calling for people to come by. As the three people came in, two women and a man, he gave them orders and started going through the racks but not without noticing the impressive turtle costumes.

"I'm still on the fence." Leo announced. However, his thoughts were ignored as one of the brazilian helpers gave a pile of cloth and feathers into Mona's arms. Next, the woman stood behind her and ushered her into a vacant tent.

"And i'm going to try these on." The lizard girl said with a laugh before closing the flap behind her. Right behind her, more clothes-stuff were handed to the mutants. Neither Raphael or Leonardo were as excited as they looked at the colorful clothing.

"Play dress up with us!" Venus called, exposing her head from the curtain. "Come on!" With that, she and the others disappeared behind the white tents. The two brothers stood there, eyeing their pieces.

"Why is mine bigger?" Raphael brought it to his brother's eyes. Leo shrugged for he did not care too greatly. The red banded turtle shook his head and went behind a vacant tent. Left alone, and obviously outvoted, the leader sighed and shook his head as he too pulled the curtains behind him.

"There is no way I'm wearing this! I look like the king of frogs." Raphael pouted. He sat in a small folding chair with a stuffy look and his arms crossed in the open area. The costume was a mix of various greens and gold with an amphibian touch to the large green frills around the neckline and as a headpiece. Alongside the headpiece, tall, proud green feathers arose from the top of his head. The turtle was green from head to toe in a hilarious assortment.

"Not really. Jump in a trash can and you can be Oscar the Grouch." Mikey teased. Leonardo and Donatello were there too. As Raphael was dressed in a green robe, the others wore decorated shorts with fabricated cuffs around their knees and calves. Their necks held regal, thick cage necklaces with matching arm bands. On the tops of their heads were no longer their bandanas because of the committee's wishes but now headbands with a number of feather atop their heads. Leo's had the most and Michelangelo had the least with none that went with the blue and yellow color code. Each set had its own unique qualities such as a draping, shimmering belt, bedazzled pieces, or a set of falling chains.

"I can't go out like this!" He exasperated. Just looking down at the green shimmering cloth covering his legs made him kick out at it. Yes, he was the least exposed but being the same color throughout and rid of his mask was embarrassing.

"Disrespectful." Mikey whispered as he fastened his headband down.

"Hey! You!" He called out to a woman passing by. She did not notice him as she went through the racks. Raphael persisted. "Got anything else?" He tried again, but his pleas were on deaf ears as she got what she needed and walked away.

"Oh, you're one of those. You one of them deaf people."

"Or she speaks a different language." Raphael disowned Donatello's explanation with an annoyed expression and a look in a different direction.

"I am not wearing this!" Oh boy, that was Mona shouting.

"Here we go." Mikey rolled his eyes. Coming through the curtains, the two sisters emerged from their shared room. They gave them both the basics of a bikini costume set, but on steroids. Mona was dressed in gold with a dangling necklace that fell all the way to her bellybutton. A brown loincloth draped down until it hit the base of her laced up stilettos. Along her shins, proud blue feathers sprouted which matched with the elaborate headset that mimicked the fashion of a proud cockatoo. Venus didn't fare much better. She was **THE** most feathered with a headset that was loaded and draped with long feathering on top and along the sides of her head. Saddled on either sides of her shell were proud, colorful wings that resembled a scarlet macaw. Due to her situation, the wings had to be separated into singular pieces. Without the feathers on her legs like Mona (as if she needed any more of those), she wore sheer, shimmering red sleeves that went into a red rhinestone bikini set. The guys shied back.

"Whoa girls! Ever heard of modesty?" Mikey teased.

"Hey!" Mona called defensively. "Before I found this piece of cloth, I was wearing two sugar packets and a dorito!" Which was true. The top they had on her before wasn't the most modest and then the thought of wearing a thong in public? Not for this girl.

"Should've kept it on." Michelangelo muttered under his breath. It was meant to be a joke, but it didn't sit lightly with the rest as Raphael gave him a respective slap behind his head."Ow!" He gasped, holding the hurt spot. "I hate Spring!" He muttered some more.

"Shut up!" Raphael whispered through the grit in his teeth. Venus groaned.

"It is so weird wearing a bra." Taking the base of it, she began tugging on it. "I walk around topless all the time. Can I take it off?"

"I wouldn't." Leonardo spoke low. Swiftly, Venus spun around with a finger on a mission.

"No bust, no say." She spoke firmly. In her mind, she was sure she was asking Mona Lisa. Leo shook his head like he shook away that misconception.

"I meant that it would keep the police off our backs. They could think it's painted until they get a closer view. No need for them to find out we are a crew of turtles."

"I feel like a bird more than anything in all these feathers." The female turtle inspected the wings on the side of her body. Leo cracked a smile. They all were a pretty sight. Despite being reptiles, the float crew insisted they'd have feather (except for Raph).

The once purple banded turtle extended a large duffle bag to Mona. When she opened it, it was full of everyone else's stuff. Katanas, belts, everything. She and Venus went back into their dressing room and filled it up with their belongings; weapons on top.

"I'll keep a hold on our bag." Donnie extended his arm after Venus zipped it up. She handed it over to him, in which he hiked it up over his shoulder.

"And I'll take it when you don't want it anymore." Raph assured.

"C'Mon Y'all!" Mikey shouted while waving a fist in the air. "LETS GOOO!"

Given the little English that their newfound friend, they were able to understand that the floats will not be running until sunset, which was the time they were expected back. To pass the time, the rest of the costumed crew wanted to take it to the streets. Following them, they went on a musical and lively tour through the towns on foot. The real dancers and performers took pictures with people and children and welcomed those everywhere. As outgoing as they are by themselves, the mutant family kept mostly to waving. Whatever they were doing, they still got a much loved appreciation of their fantastic looks. Despite being the least exposed, Raphael kept himself in the middle of the pack, hiding. In the middle of the commotion, he was out of sorts after he felt someone latch onto his hand. Because of the crowd, the interlock was concealed. He looked down to see a familiar dark green and small hand. His eyes trailed up the arm to see Mona who was facing forward. When she felt his eyes on her, she smiled but didn't dare to turn to him. Seeing the benefit in it, he kept forward as well.

"I don't like mine either." Mona spoke softly, but the male turtle could hear her.

Through their tour, they explored other neighborhoods and scoured the beaches. They weren't exactly sure which ones but they sure were live and beautiful. As they entered a more familiar hood, Leonardo kept a closer eye on what made it so familiar. Along their parade, they hit a quick 'dead-patch' or a lesser crowded area. This part was a little more industrial than it was residential or commercial. Suddenly, his eye caught onto it.

"Isn't that the TCRI building?" The finger he pointed at the building guided their curious eyes. As if he really needed to ask. The full name of the building was spelled out on its side.

"Indeed it is." Donatello nodded while sticking out his bottom lip. The leader began to slow down his pace. The people behind him avoided and past them up as they all followed him to a complete stop. His eyes never left the structure.

"You guys wouldn't mind checking it out again?" They were going to be called by sunset, it was nearly there but they shouldn't be gone too long. There was definitely enough time to take another look. Besides, you never know what you can find. Another clue to their investigation possibly? Definitely a winner if so.

"You're asking us?" Raph mumbled critically.

"No, not really." Leo then began to move towards it, excusing himself from the people walking vertically in his path.

"Thought so."

Donnie was already on it with his security scan. The lights of the facility were on but the family was tucked away after finding access to a utility closet. This was mostly a recon mission, especially since engaging in a fight will be less effective in such bright and goofy costumes. There was a small rectangular window that looked out onto the floor. The ninjas kept to the sides to hide, but the youngest was front and center. His eyes peeked out through the window.

"Whoa, this place live." He commented. The machines were alive and well from the last time they were there and the new found light showed how much bigger the facility really was. Making a judgement call after no one has even passed the closet let alone was spotted out the window, Venus took a step into the strip of light to see.

"How come they aren't celebrating outside? Isn't this one of those national holidays?" She questioned. Following her example, the rest of the family took a step in.

"It's a lab. They work when they have to." Donnie explained, his nose was still in his duffle bag where he sheltered the light from his tablet from any outside eyes.

"I've yet to see people in here." Mikey spoke in a fashion that was more of an indirect suggestion. Donatello had gotten up, his tablet back in his duffle bag and over his shoulder.

"Security is down." He stated. Leonardo reached for the doorknob and opened it. Flinging into the shadows of the machines, each mutant disappeared until the last one closed the door behind them. They crept around stealthily. At every turn, there was no people in the vicinity. The situation was odd because of the machines that spurred and buzzed without anyone supervising them. There had to be someone here. They made the decision to climb up to the skywalk to overlook the entire warehouse.

Strolling down the way felt like they were a villain in an old action movie. All they needed was a tied up hero in a boiling vat. They hung onto the rails, looking for just a single person for them to be aware of. Alas, they could not find one. None of the six pairs of eyes could just find one. Donatello straightened up and rubbed his chin in a puzzle.

"That's weird. The conveyor belts and machines are working, but there's no one around."

"Move!" Venus shrieked. Her senses hit her with a bang!

"Eat this you freaks!" The neck of a nearby crane came in the swoop the surface of the skywalk. The female turtle was able to push Raphael down and out of the way, but for the others, it was too late. They were carried off by the end of the crane. Their bodies fell straight down and hit the main floor. Venus and Raphael crawled to the edge to see if their family was okay. Hurt, they still were squirming to stand. For the most part they landed in a pile and landed in the fragile wooden boxes instead of solid concrete. The two turtles up above jumped down by jumping and landing on nearby equipment to get away from the mysterious madman.

"This guy's totally off his meds." Raph huffed in a hoarse voice. That crane was a little too surprising.

"Says 'Oscar the Grouch'." Mikey muttered, trying to straighten up and pop his back. Venus and Raphael went over trying to assist the hurt up and on their feet.

"Seriously? He's the bad guy!" Then, there was a slow clap that caught their attentions. The family growled, seething as they looked up at the skywalk.

"Well, you got me! You finally found me! And culturally immersed." A man spoke heartily at their demise (and costume choice). He emerged from the shadows in a white lab coat. The man wore glasses, had red hair… it was Chapelin. He smiled deviously at the fallen. "I've got to say that you guys are much better than what Stockman gives you credit. Taking down and tracking down my men, I'll tell you, I thought you almost had me the last time you were here."

"It was you! You were the shadow!" Leonardo announced, pointing an accusatory finger. The scientist shrugged like a sarcastic 'whoops'.

"That's right!" Chapelin spoke strongly. "I really would like to continue our talks, you are all very incredible, but I must prepare unveiling the statue." Everything was coming together. All of their leads proved true. He was going to dig for that statue. It was going to be extremely illegal and wrong for one and if the legend behind it could possibly be true, he would be untouchable.

"Like we're really going to let you do that." Mikey rolled his eyes and gave him a sassy pose.

"Yeah! And there's like…. One… one…" Raphael began to 'count' opponents with an appropriate attitude. "yeah, just one you. And if there's any more, we'll take them down too." He made sure of that, especially since Donatello gave him a big confidence boost by planting his sais in his hands. The techie brother, with his staff in hand, leaned gingerly on his shoulder. He pointed a finger at him and nodded confidently.

"Act as high and mighty as you want but the odds aren't very great for you." Chapelin raised his brow. Mona Lisa came to the other side of Raphael. She stared down at her Naga Surujin; tossing the ball up and down, she smiled.

"Donnie's a genius at probability so why don't you come down and go to jail? Hm? Keep it easy." She eyed Chapelin and began to spin the ball end around in a small circle. The man was unphased.

"I'll give you a fair fight. I have something very special for you." The man reached into his pocket. A small device was fiddled with, then began to start beeping. A bump in the dark made them jump. There were thundering steps that were slow. The mutant family stood ready for they were yet to see what was coming. Far in the background, a large machine turned the corner and began to rush quickly down the line. Its loud, mechanical roars shook them to their core. This really wasn't going to be good. The machine stopped underneath the skywalk. It looked like on of those 'mouser' things they saw at Ruffington's, but this ne was put together and **much** bigger. Try the size of two elephants stacked on top of one another. And if the size wasn't enough, the creature had three heads. Count them. **Three heads.** "Meet my greatest invention yet!" Chapelin exclaimed proudly. "The Cerberus Mouser!"


	21. Cerberus

"Cerberus? That looks nothing like an aardvark!" Mikey cringed as it stood before them. Donatello rolled his eyes.

"Not Cer **eb** us the comic, 'Cer **be** rus': a three headed dog from Greek mythology."

"History lesson: over!" Raphael shoved in between them. He unsheathed on of his sais and used it as a finger. "Time to make that thing history." He pointed. Chapelin unveiled an unmarked can. Finger on the trigger, he smiled as he began to press down the top. He reached for the side of his hip and hand a tab of duct tape. He pointed the red air away from his body as he taped the trigger down. Then, he chucked it down at the mutants below. They were on the defense, moving away from whatever it was. They moved away from it, but the constant spray travelled in all directions as it came into contact with scales and shell.

"What the shell was that?" Raphael coughed, trying to keep himself from breathing it in. After observing the chemical's properties upon touching them and how the color came out red, Donatello had a hunch and took a swift breath. He took a second to soak it in and assess the situation.

"It's not poisonous." With that, everyone took a breath. Leonardo pulled out both of his katanas.

"Just a distraction." He claimed. However, as they contemplated on what happened, the Mouser roared and charged at the family.

"Split up!" He ordered as it came barreling in. Every single head lurched at someone, wishing to take a bite from them. From its first calm demeanor, they couldn't see something as fast and responsive as this thing. "We need to hit in on all sides." That's just what they did. Each mutant looked for a way in by bashing its side or getting a lucky hit on the head.

"How do you hit something that won't dent?" Mona asked in shock after repeated offenses with the ball end of her naga surujin did nothing to its body. Instead, a head targeted her. When it lunged, Mona was quick to roll underneath it and come out on the other side.

"Dig deep, my ninja family." He spoke low after he had to retreat from trying to get between the bases of a pair on the necks. Leo caught himself on a single knee, leaning forward to catch his breath.

"The trick to inspire is without sounding like a fortune cookie." Raphael quoted as he was dancing with the left head. "Okay, chief?" Alas as he fought it, it lunged, causing him to double back. Mikey came in time before it could strike again. He ran in front of it and gave it a rather pathetic tap on its nose with his nunchuk ( and also telling it 'no') like a dog) and pulled Raphael to safety with Venus' help.

Leonardo kneeled there for a second. His eye caught his tallest brother who was failing to tap it with his bo staff. When he failed, the purple banded terrapin retreated to Leonardo's side.

"Can you shut it down, Donnie?" He asked of him. Donatello looked up to the rafters to see Chapelin smile down. When his eyes met the turtle's, the smile faded and he took a step back.

"You insult me." He smirked. "But I need a distraction."

"Just thinking of a strategy." Leonardo smiled under his uncertainness. But, his brother needed a distraction. Leo got up and began to charge the creature back. Donatello went to work and ran away from the scene.

"Look at him run." Chapelin laughed. "He's the smart one!" Man, did they all want to sucker punch him after belching that out. However, they were a little busy trying to keep alive.

They've fought people, they've fought people in armor, they've fought magic, but fighting a machine… this was a first. How do you eat something up that barely dents and will break bone if kicked? Venus was the first to ask the obvious question after many failed attempts to at least slow it down with her might had no effect on it.

"How do you fight that?" She shrieked as it chased her. Leonardo, on the other side, rushed it and gave its side a slash . Only one katana made contact. The contact gave him an uncomfortable jolt, but it brought him hope. Before it turned around to see where the assault came from, he noticed a white cut on its hide.

"Slice and dice." He did it again when the nearest head came about. He repeated the procedure again, this time it only scraped the top of its 'muzzle'.

"Oh, you guys have fun while I fan it to death." Venus was able to get rid of the snide remark as she continued dodging the creature by jumping behind poles and inanimate machines. Each time it went for her, she jumped in which it would only harm what she was just on. Mona came around, swinging her naga surujin and releasing it. The ball smacked the head away, in which Venus was able to make her escape.

"Set the toaster up for Raph and I to hack it." Leo furtherly explained.

"Yes! Stabbing!" Raphael pumped his elbow and fist in excitement. "I never get to do that!" Running behind him, Mona remarked:

"Then today's a really good day for you." She smiled before going back out there.

"Focus on the heads!" It was Donatello. During the time, he made his way up to the rafters where Dr. Chapelin was. Mikey was a little nervous about the questionable tactic.

"If we cut off one of its heads, will it grow back?" He called up. The mouser was charging the herd of the family, in which he had to dodge.

"No, that's a Hydra." Donnie called back. That's all he needed to hear to set it off.

Mona spun the ball end over her head. With each swing it gained tremendous momentum. When it felt right, she threw it, letting it wrap around its left neck. The machine was strong, immediately jerking her forward. There was no balance to gain by standing still and pulling back, so the lizard girl went for it by charging it. Eventually, the machine's neck rose, causing her to rise and swing with it. Since it would try to take a bite out of a fighting mutant, her toes would drag along the ground as she tried to escape its gaping maw. With sharp observance, she noticed the neck's flexibility. Although robust, it could not bend in sharp positions but in fixed, rounded positions. The girl took a gamble and shuffled to stay directly beneath its neck. The specific head could no longer sense her for she was out of its range, but it wasn't to say that the other heads may catch a glimpse of her.

"Help me hold it down!" She shouted to whomever could be useful as she tried to pull the neck still. Her efforts were meager. Michelangelo had been trying to time the machine while trying to keep out of its sights. When the time was right, he made a bold decision to slide underneath it. Leg first, he slid to the next base and stopped just before he could go past the mutant girl. By her feet, he used his strength and weight to contain the machine.

"We got him! We got him!" Mikey hollered joyfully as they wrangled the beast. With that code, it gave Raphael his time for his early Christmas present. Currently being chased by the middle head, he had to devise a plan to ditch it and get the contained one without it getting him or his siblings down below. While pondering that thought, he was caught off guard. The right head wound up to the side when he was not paying attention.

"Raph, look out!" Leo shouted. Too late. Wound up, the head swung hard at the terrapin, taking his body with it as it pushed him aside like a rag doll and flying. He hit the floor hard and rolled for some time. During the action, the left head lifted to get out of the range of motion, thus picking up the two mutants trying to hold it down. They watched as their brother flew just underneath their dangling legs. Up in the air, Mona pulled herself until her legs were wrapped around the wide tubing. She reached down to grab one of Michelangelo's hands and strained to pull him up until he was hugging the machine.

"I'd kill for a knife right now." Mona expressed as she stared at the mechanic. Michelangelo then began to swing his legs back and forth. Gaining momentum, he swung them up to straddle the neck of it just under Mona Lisa, Then, he used a single arm to reach the back underneath his sweatshirt around his waist. He grunted and strained until he pulled out two pieces of silver. With an extended hand, he asked:

"Would a shuriken do instead?" Mona smiled and took one. Both began vigorously by using its sharp edge to saw into the metal. It would take a while, but at least they were able to do something. In the meanwhile, Raphael was ready to lay some hate. He was up on his knees. His legs were shocked, but he was too far gone to notice. With an animalistic glare, he wiped the good sized cut on his arm, smearing the blood with it.

"You're mine." He muttered before getting up. In a flash, he charged it. Both sais were concealed in his grips until he flipped them into a position to do some real damage. The Mouser was mainly focused on Leonardo and Venus who were dancing with it and finding ways to get in it. The red banded turtle kept quiet until he leaped up. His back arched back with his arms up high. With brute strength, he gave it his all when the tips of his sais sank into the hot metal. The other heads were too busy with the blue bands and the offended head's optics did not pick up on the turtle who sat just above the sensitive area. Angry, he stabbed it over and over, making sure it was in places to get the head cut off from the neck but as well as leaving random spots just for the fun of it. Mona and Michelangelo's efforts were meager, but no one seemed to care as the job was getting done.

"Help!" Raph called to the two. He sat on the head, putting his foot at the edge of the neck and pushed off with his leg. Mona and Mikey snaked up until they could get a comfortable grip around the overheating and sparking contraption. The three made a group effort to pry the head off with slow success. Pulling and pulling, they gave one last heave until the last of the wires snapped from its core. The ones on the neck were hanging upside down like monkeys as they no longer had a grip on the now falling head. A shower of sparks began to flow from the cut, in which the two began to retreat and jump off. The head took Raphael with him. It did indeed land in him, but it was not heavy for the most part. With a smile, he pushed it off of him and smirked at it.

"A little help, please!" It was Leonardo. He was working on the far right head. With katanas drawn he was looking for a way on the inside to destroy it. Meanwhile, Venus was standing just behind him. With her arms and hands out towards the beat, Leonardo acted as a protector as she stood there, eyes closed. From her hands came the usual blue glow. What came off where two blue rays that shot at the machine's body. With each blast, and invisible force pushed her back. She strained to keep herself up.

"It's too strong!" She cried. Her magic was not working. Shurikens, she can stop, but this, nope. After the call, Raphael jumped in with Leo. The middle head saw the large red banded turtle slip underneath it. The beast roared, catching Raph's attention. Then, it came at him, jaw fully unhinged. Jumping over him, Leonardo got in the way with both of his katanas in an 'x' formation before him. The action stopped the mouser from biting, but with the swords caught on the surface of its jaw, the mouser continued to push. Its forced sent Leonardo back and knocking Raphael out of the way. The leader struggled to keep up his strength as the machine knocked him down and kept pushing him back. Mona and Mikey hung on for dear life as it made the leader slide against the floor. The wall and his shell brought a shock to his back. He gasped as the machine kept putting pressure on him. Leo was trying to hard to fight back that his arms gave out to its power. Now its sharp teeth were inches away from his head. However, he could not see the next thing coming. The right head came it and pushed him from the wall, hitting him from the side. As his body flew, the head caught him by the straps of him back. Like a dog, it swung him around and shook his body cold. Raph picked himself up in horror as he could only watch Leo become a rag doll to the machine. He wanted to do something about it, but was then busy fighting with the middle head.

Mona struggled to wind up her naga surujin as the machine moved them about. Due to the struggle of holding on, she knew they had to be more secured. It was hard to keep her arm in the correct position to swing the ball around. Each time the machine rose, she had to duck down so she wouldn't get clocked by her own weapon. Her arm followed when the chain was let go. The ball wound against the base of the neck of the middle head. Michelangelo took hold of her arm and climbed up the chain with her. However, one of them lost their footing, soon causing the two of them to hang on for dear life on the chain as they were swinging back and forth along its flat back.

While Leonardo struggled to keep alive as the machine shook him, it took a quick turn for the worst. Using its own momentum as it rolled its head around, when the peak of its nose got to the top, the mouser let him go. Leonardo was airborne. He had absolutely no control as he tried to gain anything to help him. Unfortunately, below him was the gaping mouth of the mouser.

"Leo!" The others saw another blue turtle jump in the Mouser's open mouth. This, however, did not stop the flying turtle to land in the mouser's mouth as planned. Careful positioning caused the machine to bite into two shells rather than touch a carapace. With the strong bone structure and the loss of force due to its widely opened mouth, the jagged jaws did not pierce into their shells. Rather, the pressure was on for the two stuck in the middle. The intense pressure limited their breathing as it tried to smash them in its mouth.

"Hi." He spoke in a hushed & hoarse tone as he was being pushed against her.

"Hi." She returned in an equal manner; both acting oblivious to their current situation of being in something's jaw. Being on top, Venus tried to create some relief. She pressed her hands on his shoulders and pushed herself up. Only minimal results returned, but Venus continued to push until a real solution would submerge. There was virtually no maneuvering room inside the mouth, making it hard to reposition his sword with a single hand. Then, he began to press down into the floor of its mouth. He could not stab it, but slowly he cut into its palette. Slowly, he whittled away at its jaw hinge. Finally, the hinge popped at the mercy of his katana and the corner of the bottom of its jaw hung. Along with it, the two turtles were halfway upside down. Because the other side of the jaw was holding nothing but smooth shell surface, they began to slip out of its mouth. With quick thinking, Venus purposely slid off. She grabbed a hold of his hand in which he swung her up and around to get on top of the head. Venus took a hold of one of his katanas. Although it was heavier than she would have imagined and was unfamiliar with how to carry it, she did her best. Wielding it over her head, she stabbed down at its neck. Machines could feel no pain, but the reaction of a roar came about. Opening its mouth, Leonardo took no time to climb out of the mouth and climb to the top with the female turtle. He gave her a quick smirk for her job well done before he used his remaining sword to stab into the side of the head and pull down. Then, he took the one Venus stabbed in and made it cut in the other direction. The action took the mouser's head clean off. Due to its spark-flying neck, both turtles jumped down and out of the way. Leonardo put his foot on the fallen head and pulled out both of his weapons.

Raphael did his little signature yell. Both sais drawn, he held them up high until they pierced the metal. The head moved around, but Raphael use his weight to hold it and himself down. To keep it from opening its mouth, Donnie came out of nowhere with his unsheathed bo staff that pierced the side of its jaw to keep it from opening. Furthering the precaution, Mona's naga surujin wrapped around its nose. Using Mona and the taut chain as a ladder, Venus and Michelangelo both jumped on the head. All the force brought it down to where it was an inch from touching the ground. Soon, Leonardo came in by stabbing it right at the base of the head and neck. With full force and both katanas, he evenly sliced the last head off.

"That will be enough from you." Leonardo remarked as he pointed the tip of the blade from the last head. The main machine still moved and sputtered sparks. Without its heads, the sensors could not tell the main frame what to do, in which the body was an utter wreck. Due to the danger of getting electrocuted or burned, they left it to Donatello to shut it all down. Now, their job was to keep out of the machine's way. To check on his progress and to confront Chapelin, the group climbed back up to the broken rafters. Upon getting there, they saw only Donatello. In his hands was a controller, in which he navigated to control the machine. He then sighed for he had figured out how to shut down the discording body. The machine was done, but Chapelin was not present. They all trotted towards him. They caught his eye in which he turned with a worried expression.

"He's gone?" Venus asked as she saw the frayed group of thick cable wires at the base of a pole.

"No he isn't."


	22. What Happened with Donatello

Chapelin looked down in pride of his creation. Just as planned, it was designed to occupy the mutated terrapin family. He had never seen them before, but with what Stockman recalled, he was utterly accurate of their amazing abilities. Seeing them in person was even more incredible as he clung to the rails to watch them fight with the Cerberus Mouser.

"End of the line, professor." He turned abruptly to see the surprise behind him. It was the turtle whom he believed ran away. Up close, he took into better account how incredibly large he was (and he wasn't "the largest" one out there). Donatello was standing impressively as he stood mere feet away from the scientist. Chapelin shook his head slightly to snap himself out of his trance. He glimpsed back down to the commotion below.

"I believe not." He stated confidently. "With my collaboration with Dr. Stockman, the Cerberus Mouser will for sure bring your clan down."

"I have a lot of faith in them. I've seen three of them save the world 3xs and two save China and go head-to-head with the Foot and Mystics." He began to come closer. Chapelin, although stern, took a couple steps away. "Do you really believe your invention will stop any of them?"

"And you are here because…?" He was trying to toy with him, Donnie knew so. They're always underestimated. As he came forward, he reached up to some loose hanging wires. Being 6'8, it was an easy reach.

"I'm here to make sure there are no outside contingencies." He jerked on the wires, showing his mighty power by unplugging and ripping the bunch of cables that were now lying limp in his hands. With the other hand, he pointed to Chapelin's hands. "Such as that proportional-integral controller in your hands." The scientist looked down to the contraption in his hold. His brow rose.

"You are the smart one, aren't you?" He asked inquiringly. Donnie snickered; he now stood before Chapelin. The scientist looked up. The fear was in his eyes but his expression did not want to show it as the large mutant stood over him.

"Did the glasses give it away?" His features were most intriguing. His spectacles magnified the intensity of his stern yet uniquely detailed eyes.

"A-Actually, it was the radio stitched to your… um, back." He uttered, pointing to the object behind him. Donatello nodded and snapped the wires using both hands, making a loud snapping sound that made the scientist jump. Uh-oh.

I guess you can say that things weren't going so well below with everyone else trying to fight a machine with no weak spot, but Donnie seemed to be having a pretty good day. Chapelin was such a good sport to sit still as he allowed the techie turtle to tie him up around a pole with those cables he pulled out.

"Just sit pretty and let me work." He commented as he went from tying the knot to picking the fallen controller from off the floor. "From what I remember off the board… they are equipped with a radioisotope tracker. That is how it is attracted to them." He spoke to himself in a soft voice, but his thoughts did not escape the ears of the tied up man.

"You are very bright, even brighter than some of the people that come through here." Donnie disregarded his comment. He was a little too busy with the task at hand than be distracted by a low-life's observances. Chapelin waited on his answer, but in the meantime he was rocking his shoulders very subtly.

"How do I get the particles off of them?" He called to him without looking at him.

"You can't. It will eventually fade, but it will be too late for that." So much for that. Donnie wished he had been lying, but by his knowledge, it was proving to be all too true. He eyed the controller. With his inability to read portuguese and his family still struggling to fight it, he rather not risk accidentally blowing them up with a potential 'self-destruct' button. His fingers grasped his chin; the tp on his tongue poked out from between his lips.

"You'll have to interrupt the sensors…" He remembered. Those optics on the insides of its 'mouth' is where the sensors are to pick up the particles. Why? Of course the mouths are constantly open so they could see, but they have to be there to pick up a quicker reading for the heads to process the information much more efficiently. "Focus on the heads!"

"If we cut off one of its heads, will it grow back?" He heard Michelangelo yell back.

"No, that's a Hydra." He answered, keeping his eyes on the controller. After his instruction, he could hear the ambience of them executing a plan of their own.

"Turtle, you like robotics? Know everything about them?" Chapelin began again. Donatello let out a loud and purposely rude sigh. However, he continued unshaken. "I can use someone like you on our team."

"Not interested." He replied bluntly.

"I notice that you aren't in the media just by myself never hearing anything about you yet you say you have saved the world many times."

"It was because of the Foot that the world needed saving." Now stop talking, Donnie's trying to use his precious brain.

"The world has not rewarded you yet. Come along with me. You can have unlimited access to this lab and many others internationally. You will be rewarded and recognized. With the Shredder gone, you will be able to do what Dr. Stockman could never get. The satisfaction of being rewarded for his work." Chapelin persisted. This was no 'occupying to buy some time' trick. He truly wanted to hire Donatello. Sure, he knows very little of what he knows, but he knows what hes seen so far (besides, if he really isn't, he can take responsibility for his creation).

"Sorry. I'm currently employed." Clap-back. Donnie was always the king of it. That was until he heard a thud.

He looked up to see the cables now on the ground and a freed Chapelin. He was subtly wiggling the whole time against a sharp edge on the backside of the pole. He could hypothesize from the two cables furthest away were frayed away at, which was not their original position. Chapelin did nothing to escape but rather stood confident once more.

"Looks like your clan is in a pickle." He commented as he peeked over the rail, standing on one foot with his hands behind his back. Donatello wanted to engage, but he caught a glimpse below. He turned his head down to see Leonardo sliding along the floor as a head pushed him up against the wall. Chapelin smiled as he walked backwards into the shadows. "Sorry, but I have a parade to catch." Donatello scolded him as he witnessed the scientist literally walk out. Yes, he believed his family could get through it, but ensuring that his eldest brother will be ok is much more satisfying than catching the perpetrator any day. When Chapelin faded, Donatello got to work. His tongue peeked out on the side of his lips as he worked aimlessly on how to control the machine. With numerous buttons and combinations, Chapelin was sure trying to make it difficult. Plus, the labels were in Portuguese. This was going to take a lot of guess-and-check.

With Leonardo playing Twister with Venus in one of the mouths, he really couldn't touch any of the buttons. There wasn't anything he could do, so he had to abandon his own ship. The purple clad turtle hopped from machine to machine to get down quickly. His feet hit them hard but he was too pumped with adrenaline to feel it. Now the only mouth was left standing. Raphael was already in the air, screaming as he brought the house down by stabbing the head. The machine roared, trying to open its mouth which could partially do so with the large mutant over it. Donatello pressed the other half of the button on his staff. Since upgrading it, it now either extended the staff by wood or by blade. Because it needed to slip between the cracks, the blade was unsheathed and jammed between the large washers of the mouth. The rest of the family followed suit for they understood that they must shut its mouth so it would be easier to cut its head off when it can't see where it's coming from. All the force brought it down to where it was an inch from touching the ground. Soon, Leonardo came in by stabbing it right at the base of the head and neck. With full force and both katanas, he evenly sliced the last head off.

The machine spurted fluid with the necks flailing and sparking when they made contact with each other. Now that the machine was practically defeated, Donatello had to make sure that it was done for sure. He slipped past everyone and made his way back up to the rafters as they all watched the machine and watched out for themselves. The controller was right where he left it on the floor. He took it in his hands and started to decrypt the words inscribed on it in hopes his educated guesses would make the right decision.

" _Auto-destruição"_ Yeah, let's wait for that one when they're out of the building (Plus, I can't believe those idiots would do that to their 'greatest invention').

" _Snap"_ Oh, one of the necks straightened out. Must have been one of the attacks.

" _Som"_ He pressed it twice after an ugly screeching sound came from the base of the body. Must've been the voice box.

" _Desligar"_ Hmm… has the same prefix as "destruição" but lacks the root-word "destroy". Try it.

He had to close an eye as he pressed the button. There was a delay, but then he began to see progress. The machine quieted down as the necks relaxed. Soon, it began to fold its legs down to lie itself down on the floor. Compressed air passed through like the sound of brakes on a semi-truck. It sat there, deflated as the hypnotic sound of wheels freely spinning inside it made a hollow sound within its body. Donatello sighed. Through all the struggle, he has done it again. He leaned his entire body on the rail. He held his head between his arms to take a break from the stressful reality; his grip never lost on the controller. It was bliss until he heard the stomps coming towards him. He looked up to see his family. The fight brought out a lot of ugly. Their costume that once was beautiful and colorful were now dusted up and torn up. Feathers went missing or were completely destroyed. Their extra accessories were either fallen off or taken off such as headpieces. How Mona chose overall to continue fighting in her heels, they would never know how she could do it. They looked to him with lost expressions as they saw the fallen cables around the pole and the suspect missing.

"He's gone?" Venus asked as she saw the frayed group of thick cable wires at the base of a pole.

"No he isn't."


	23. Carnival

There was not much left to say. The crew was baffled entirely for their brother who was left alone to deal with Chapelin only gave them a cryptic view of what happened before he began making a run for the front door. They all followed him out with multiple unanswered questions. It was not until the biggest brother had finally caught up to the techie once they were out of the doors. He cut him off with a giant step in his direction. Donnie's shoes slid slightly underneath the light gravel.

"Why didn't you go after him?!" Raphael barked as he shoved him in the chest. Donatello regained posture & leaned in close.

"'Thank you, Donatello for sticking around and helping us out. We appreciate you.'" He spat out in a mocking tone before returning a scowl.

"Will you two stop it!?" Venus got in between them, pushing them both back & forcing their stares between her. Annoyed by their actions, she gave them a snap with a glowing hand. The spark of blue color caught their attention. "We need to haul shell to catch up to him." Her voice was deep and commanding. Michelangelo came fourth. With a hand on placed on her shoulder, he pulled himself in-between them, pushing the bickering brothers further apart.

"Listen to Lady turtle," He presented his hands now out towards her. " now listen to me." His thumb dig just at the top of his plastron. Then, he put a hand on Donatello and hunched over while looking him in the eye. He was trying to look somewhat serious and confidential. "Did he say 'exactly' where he was going to be?"

"Nope." The purple banded brother sighed and stuck out his bottom lip.

"Dang it!" He shouted through his gritted teeth; giving his fingers a snap as his arm swung across his body, he scratched his chin and spoke to himself. "He ain't **that** type of villain."

"Lets just try to find him before he gets too far." Leonardo pulled along, almost skipping sideways to the direction he wanted to move to.

"How?" Raphael sassily responded. His arm swung out to the open air. "You saw those crowds. It's an international block party!"

"If we keep running and we look for the guy on the run, he can't sit still because we're in the least crowded district." Which was true since they were the only decorated items in eyesight. Well, somewhat. After their little fight, they looked like the hottest mess in Brazil. Some of their costume had little tears here and little smears of dirt from sliding around the main floor. A select few of the feathers that adorned their hats and legs were pathetically standing with little material to consider it still a feather and not a colored stick. If that wasn't bad enough, they were already sweaty messes underneath it all.

"Wait!" Donatello exclaimed. The family's feet scuffed along the pavement to halt to a stop. When they looked back, Donatello was always running backwards. "Stay here!" He asked of them before turning his hips and running back into the facilities.

"Did he not just say keep running?" Michelangelo's voice rose in pitch as he stood confused, ushering towards the leader of the group.

"We don't have time for this!" Raphael called back, but Donatello would not stop running. He was already busting back through the front doors of TCRI.

"I'm saving our shells!" he screamed in a high pitched tone. The sudden vocal change caught them off guard, but it was something Donatello really could not escape sometimes. To him, it was a small curse to pay but for everyone else, it was a refreshing comedic relief from the normally stoic and elusive turtle.

"I'm ok with that." Mona waved even though he was long-gone when she stated so. "We haven't stopped running for at least an hour." The lizard lady squatted down, sitting atop her legs and the long heels that she refused to remove even while fighting. Force of habit. Look out Beyonce. She took even breaths to regain her lungs as she rested.

"Maybe if you weren't wearing heels-." Michelangelo was about to joke until he was shot with a look of daggers into his soul. He nonchalantly looked away, hands folded behind his back. "Ok."

He burst back through the facilities doors approximately five minutes later. So far away, they couldn't tell what he had but could tell that he was holding something. The closer he got the more they could make out red, silver, and black/colored wires sprouting from it as if it were cut maliciously. Some of them were long wires that were placed to whatever on the back of his shell where he kept his main-frame.

"Did we just sit around so you can go back for a souvenir?"

"Tell me what this is, Raph." Donnie jumbled the contraption in front of his face so he could not miss a detail. By the looks of it, Donatello was a 100% done with his sh-.

"Broken." He took a "wild" guess with mere bluntness.

"Wrong!" He blurted into his face. Raphael's eyes closed and his chin lifted far up until he was finished. "Mikey." He gave him the same treatment by showing him the device. The young turtle inspected it quickly with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

"Useful?" He pointed at the device while also flipping his nunchucks so he could hold the handles in the same hand.

"Well done." He complimented while eyeing Raphael. The bigger brother crossed his arms and rolled his eyes until he started to explain its purpose. "This is a sensor from one of the mouser heads. The main function still works within its circuitry because it led me directly to you all and myself."

"Wait, how?" Mikey asked in a breathy tone. He bent over with his hands on his knees and stared at the piece of technology with eyes as wide as a curious child.

"He explained that the spray he hit us with is practically a tracker." He began to turn on his computer and projector. Everyone gathered around to look, except for Mona, who stayed squatting but could still look up to see the underside of the projection. "The particles cannot be washed off but fade off eventually. When I hooked it up to my processors, it acts like a perfect tracker. See the signatures on my map? That big clump is us." Just upon recognition, they saw that a piece of the clump came apart from the large clump and then would come back to them. They looked up only to see the orange banded brother having a lot of fun tip-toeing back and forth without their knowing. He continued the pattern over and over until he was hit with a blue glowing pebble to the arm. Surprised, he looked up and caught their unamused gazes. The young turtle smiled sheepishly and began to whistle.

"That's him, right?" Leonardo pointed to a faintly colored signature. It was orange in color instead of red like the big clump Donatello identified as themselves. It was moving at a moderate pace, he was running and stopping to hide.

"How could he get hit with that spray yet the Mouser didn't go after him?" Venus questioned.

"The machine is supposed to attack the strong traces of the radioisotope particles. We were doused head-to-toe. When he used the can, the tip of his finger and his hand holding the can must have also been touched. That also explains how his signature is a weaker color than the rest of ours."

"Let's go then!" Mona stood up. As she broke through the projection, her face and chest had the screen 'imprinted' on her. "I can breathe again."

"He's headed to Marquês de Sapucaí!" Donatello warned behind him. They had been chasing the orange spot, moving them from the industrial district to a more heavy area. Civilian people in costume crowded the entrance of what was a large stadium.

"We don't understand Portuguese, just say 'right' and 'left'!" Leonardo followed closely behind. He had a pretty good point but Donatello usually says a bunch of things that they don't understand so this wasn't new. While running, he did his best to lean his shoulder towards him to get a glimpse of his map.

"Straight, then make a left at that far corner!" He pointed. The turn was not en route, but given their colorful costume (despite the wear and tear), they are technically granted access to the parade. There was a small line before they could enter. Impatiently they waited to keep suspicion low and walked heavily.

"He's getting lost in the parade." Mikey huffed as he caught his breath.

"Not if we have Donnie around." Raphael assured. Realizing that he has weapons on him, he concealed his said within the large green cape he wore. As one by one noticed, a chain reaction occurred as they tried to conceal their weaponry. With no pockets or a way to really hide the big ones, Raphael held the nunchucks and fans in his own hands while Donatello stored the Naga Surujin and Katanas in his bag where the rest of his tech was. His bo staff didn't proved much as a threat but perhaps a prop for their 'performance'. The security were working diligently, but as soon as they saw the big hulking creatures in the back, their performance slowed at their awesomeness until they approached them. They weren't sure what they were asking them but they kept consulting with one another. They were laughing and had a fun look of surprise about them. Donnie could only infer that the man who gave them the costumes realized that they needed to come through and couldn't speak their language, thus telling the security about them. But this was just a theory. They needn't search or inspect them individually but rather let the large herd come through.

"No police search or metal detectors?" Leonardo questioned as they slowed up to another jog.

"This must be a very safe place." Venus imagined. "Festivals are usually when everyone just leans back and have fun. Not too many worries to have." She looked up and surveyed the crowd in the stands. The stadiums were filled with colors, movement, and flashes. "I miss going to stuff like this." She spoke partially to herself. Her hometown was not as large-scaled as this, but the fun and unity still held a presence.

"There's too many lunatics running around now to have good fun now." Leonardo came beside her as they hurried through the dense crowd of parade-people. Venus sighed between her huffed breaths.

"It's a shame, really." she whined.

"Mikey, if you stop one more time I'm gonna keep a leash on you!" Not turning her head, her eyes looked far enough from the side to see her older sister pull the youngest turtle by the wrists. He was resisting some and looking behind him as she pulled him along.

"But it's so beautiful!" He nearly cried out. The lizard lady pulled him past the two blue turtles until they got up to the front where the "tracker" was. The strength to get him up there was draining. Donatello kept moving, knowing Mona was unzipping the bag and fished out her weapon. With it all in hand, she left the bag open and stopped. The family once behind now brushed past them as she dealt with the orange banded turtle.

"Hold this end." Mona hastily handed him the ball-end of her surujin. He eyed it before he was jerked forward by the force of the female mutant jogging in front of him.

"Stop!" Donatello heeded to his own words abruptly, causing a short-term pile up of mutants pushing into his back. He side-eyed them until they back off of him. "He should be in front of us."

"Where is he?"

"Let me see that." Leonardo pushed Donnie's shoulder back to get a better look of the monitor. There was a bright orange dot amongst the clutter of red.

"Are you sure this is correct?" He pointed to it without his finger penetrating the light.

"That's a light orange signature next to a big red clump so I would believe so." His eyes veered across the tops of heads adorned in feathers and jewelry. Even without his vision problems, finding something as simple as a red- head was nearly impossible with the pops of color all over the place. Brushing past them were a group moving along in a very unusual fashion. With longboards underneath them and glittering crocodile costumes on their backs, a herd of perhaps twenty slithered by in twos past the reptiles.

"What are the chances that he baited something to throw off his tracks?" Raphael quizzed as he raised a brow at the peculiar people going by.

"He wouldn't have gone that far without us knowing." Donatello assured. He was definitely hit with a small trace, there was no way of hiding that even if he did bait something. If he had, then there would be two faint signatures to be alerted about, not one. One the bottom corner of the screen gave a count of the concentrated clusters to ensure who was hit with it. He was here, but they just need to spot him before he spots them.

"Ah!" Michelangelo squealed. The team turned to him, as well as some of the parade-people. On his ankle was a small mouser that refused to let go. Its teeth vibrated gently as it growled. Mikey continued to scream while trying to stomp its face off. Unfortunately, the blows made it worse as it dragged its mechanical teeth into his heel. The metal cut through his slowly, and through exposure to the air, it stung like no other. "Get off!" He began to hop on a single leg until he could find some type of balance by using both legs but not putting too much pressure on the injured one. The little machine moved only slightly from his force and continued to clamp down onto him. Next, a sai was thrown into the head of the mouser. Venus squatted down and grabbed hold of the sai. She twisted it until the pressure she applied loosened the jaw open. Once she got it open, she was gentle to keep the teeth from harming him any further and tossed the "dead" machine aside.

"You ok?" Venus slunk herself up and underneath his arm so that she may support him. His injured foot shifted as it pleased to make the pain falter away. When Raphael approached them, Venus tossed his sai back to him.

"I don't know." His expression was tired. "How many fingers are you holding?" He asked as he looked her way and tried to reach out for something in her direction. "I'm seeing a bright light. Wait. That's just a million people with cameras." Raphael rolled his eyes while Venus tried to bear with him. Coming forth from a single direction, miniature versions of the Cerberus mouser (with singular heads) made their way into the light. They acted much like their larger counterpart by screeching and screaming, but these looked a lot more agile as the began to run towards the strong targets.

"Looks like he called some of his little puppies." Raphael spoke in a deadpan fashion as he unsheathed his other sai. With his opposite hand, he handed Venus her own fans to defend herself. When she caught them, Michelangelo was left hopping on a single leg. The female turtle backed up, putting herself in front of him as the mousers came close.

"I'll protect you." Venus held him back with a single hand before it unveiled the beauty of her fans. When they got a strong sense of the particles, the little robots charged.

Mona was hit first. She swung at them with great force that sent them flying. One in particular flew right on top of Raphael's foot with its bulky head. He was dealing with three himself as he hopped on one foot and transferred his discomfort to the bots by little stabs. The last of them was kabobed by both of his sais until he did his best to open up some of the body cavity to cut off the wiring. The machine malfunctioned as he let it go. It wobbled until it toppled over and spun in circles.

"Try not putting the rest of us out of commission." He asked with an attitude as he inspected his foot quickly so that he shall engage in more destruction. And he got it. Numerous mousers emerged from the crowds of feet and stilettos as they guided their way towards the out-of-place mutants and attacked once in close proximity. Once the small creatures gathered the attentions of the packed crowd, they looked up in awe and then in fear as they saw the machines being stabbed and grabbing onto the very large people. They were fearful and backed away, but were not far enough to not see the little show that they were putting on. Donatello dropped the bag and shut off the screen to grab his bo staff. When one came close, he pushed down on its body with the end of his weapon and catapulted himself over, using his weight to crush it to the ground. Two descended upon Venus and Michelangelo. When one opened its mouth, Venus closed one of her fans and shoved the thick wood into its mouth. By instinct, it clamped its mouth shut upon it. She repositioned her hand and picked up the mouser by the wood and used its own body to abuse the other one. Being hit by something similar smashed it apart easily. The one clamped down was in damage but was better off than the other. Venus wielded it over her head before cracking it down on the ground. By the momentum, she flipped over, making sure her foot was of the body so that when she stood back up, the extra force ripped the robot apart. Only a steaming head was left in which she pried off her weapon. Michelangelo hobbled towards her, leaning on her shoulder again.

"Man, am I glad you're on my team." He breathed, earning a smile from her.

"He's on the float!" They heard Raphael shout in a gritty tone. Leonardo had just punched one jumping for his upper body with the aid of his katana handle as a club before turning to look.


	24. Bigger Picture

There was no obvious white lab jacket to tell the other performers that he did not belong there. Given they were street clothes like a button-up and pants, but he might as well have been an operator. It also helped him blend into the crowd to appear to be a random citizen. The mutants (surprisingly), were an easy target to spot and send his mousers off to. In his hand was a remote much like the one meant for the Cerberus Mouser, but now it called up numerous smaller ones to attack the group. Chapelin did not want to be seen by the mutants but instead ended up being stuck up high on the float. He kept him back from them, praying not to be seen amongst the four other dancers whose feathers acted as a temporary disguise every now and then.

"You follow! We'll hold them off here!" Leonardo ordered as another set of mousers decided to attack him. Raphael gave a quick nod before skipping backwards and fully turning around to catch the madman.

"I'm coming with!" Mona trotted beside him sideways. The red banded turtle kept his eye on the prize and continued moving.

"It's just a nerd, I'll be fine." He assured. Mona shrugged before jogging slightly faster than him.

"Whatever you say, sidekick." She said behind herself. Raphael slowed a bit before chuckling to himself and speeding back up.

"Warden." He mumbled her old "vigilante" name from his Nightwatcher days.

"Isn't this a great day for celebration?" Raphael sang surprisingly and smug. His arms were out wide with a sai in each hand that acted like an extension. Mona stepped with him in the same attitude.

"Too bad, you're going to have to do it behind bars." The ball of her chain dropped to the floor of the float. The dancers began to slow in both awe of their costume and in confusion. They were not in the dress-rehearsal. The man did not turn around. Instead, his hand began to rise to the air. As he began to turn around, the other hand was pointing right at them/

"Na-uh-uh! Not so fast." He warned as a nice sized pistol was in his grasp. The dancers screamed, covering their heads as they went down to the ground. Their screams caused a commotion in which relayed quickly for the entire float to stop. The crowds of thousands gasped in horror at the standstill. Routinely, Raphael began to walk sternly at the armed man.

"Raph, no!" Mona held him back. He got upset, but her worried look to those around her made him think about what he was doing. "The people." That was the only explanation she needed. He already knew and Chapelin saw this as he began to smile a toothy grin.

"That's right. I know all about your 'thick skin'." He teased. As he spoke, the gun acted as a loose pointer, which scared the people around him even more. "A bullet will only sting but not inflict any real damage. However, it does bounce off. Maybe into the head of an innocent if hit correctly? And how convenient is it that I am a master of such physics?" Raphael grunted, letting a hefty breath go through his nose. Chapelin held the gun more sternly with both of his hands. The safety was removed. "Weapons, drop them!" Mona stood up straight. The ball end was already on the ground. Mindful of her feet, she dropped the heavy chain. Raphael followed suit and kicked them towards him by following Mona's lead. Without asking, they brought their hands up to their heads. This wasn't the first time Raphael had to do this, regrettably. "Now, on the ground, slowly." He ordered.

"We aren't lying on the ground-." Mona began to testify but he came back more sternly.

"On the ground!" He shouted.

"Mona." Raphael whispered as he got down to one knee. She watched him and began to go down until they were both on their stomachs and on the floor. Chapelin approached them carefully, gun still kept close and ready.

"Ugh, I wanna-." She began to mumble until he stood over her.

"Do what? Huh? What?" He taunted. Every question had so much force that she blinked hard with every word.

"Keep quiet." Raph asked of her although he wished she would have done what she wanted to say. Chapelin relished the moment as he felt so powerful standing before the large beings. They could totally get up and fight him but their dedication to keeping people alive was an all too refreshing form of manipulation.

"Better listen to him." A little spot of his saliva hit the floor. With a growing shadow over her, she can tell that he was bent right over her. "I'm very trigger happy."

"Was that the last of them?" Michelangelo commented as Donatello had defeated what would have been the last standing mouser. Unbeknownst to him, there was another mouser right behind him. It remained stealthy as it crept towards the injured turtle and opened its mouth. Before it could process biting down on him, the female turtle jumped to his aid. When he looked behind him, he saw Venus land with great care to not hurt herself in the high heels she had on. She lifted up her knee before targeting its back and stomping down with great force. The sturdy heel pierced into its back. There was some shock from both impact and the wiring but Venus was alright.

"Yes." Venus spoke low as she stood up beside him. The rogue pieces of metal did not pierce her skin but stuck on her heel. The shish kabobed metal slid some but also had to have her assistance to remove it. She bent over, lightly using Michelangelo as her stand as she picked it out.

"How are they doing?" Leonardo spun his katanas in his hand to put them in a safer and off-guard position. The back of his hand tapped Donatello's arm as the tall brother slipped his goggles over his eyes. They were brought into focus and then adjusted with the dial around the optics as he searched for them. The float had moved quite a lot since they sent Raphael off to catch him. With the significant distance, Donatello walked along as he zoomed in. The closer he got, the more understandable the situation became. He wouldn't have thought he'd see Raphael on the ground but with more focus and the goggles recognizing the weapon, he gasped.

"Guys! He's got a gun on them!"

"Are they on the ground?" Leonardo tried to squint his eyes to see them but it was barely a good picture.

"Yeah. They know the consequences." He breathed with disappointment. Leonardo groaned in frustration as he thought up a plan.

"We can't get up there." His elbows stuck out from the side of his head as his hands held the back of it. "That just makes a lot more bodies for bouncing bullets. People will die."

"Come on." The female turtles started to push back the crowds. The action hurt her for she did not apologize and did it so rudely, but there were lives at stake on this. She kept calling them until they followed her lead. "Come on! I need to get closer!"

"You got us," Mona Lisa's breath bounced off the floor. She was so close to it that the air hit her brow. "Now what?" Chapelin was still over her when she spoke. The click of a gun alarmed her as she felt the cold metal nozzle press against her exposed temple. They didn't need Donnie to know how they get all their scratches and bruises. Close contact and heavy forces scratch them up. Pressed up like this would lead to a good gash but not enter her body entirely. Even worse, it could rattle her brain, leading to more problems like brain damage or loss of hearing. He kept it there, smiling.

"When your family surrenders, it's over with." He was withholding information whether it be he had no idea what to do next and wanted to irk them or to let them marinate on the possibilities of how their downfall may come to be.

"Miami PD!" Michelangelo shouted as he hopped along with Donnie as his aid. Of course, the people couldn't understand but that didn't stop him. "Back up! Back up!" He barked as he wobbled through the crowds. Venus was a good distance up as she searched for a good view of the moving float.

"Stop that, it's NYPD." Donatello lifted him a little higher, displacing him temporarily off his toes.

"Yeah but imma do it like 'Bad Boys'." Donnie eyed him before choosing to ignore him and trudged along. Mikey kept going, but let Donatello be his eyes as he stared at his brother with disappointment. "This is why I need Raph here." he commented. Up ahead was a little break where the floats barely skimmed past a set of box seats that cut off the path. Venus had to stop in front of it as their desired float was already passing it.

"We're going to have to do it right here to avoid him seeing us." Leonardo caught up. He moved so fast that his body lurched some when he caught onto the rail of the VIP female turtle groaned but she knew it was true. Time to get in formation. Focusing on her center, she synthesized the power flowing within her. As she was "charging" she took a peek to see where the float was currently. They were already so far and the decorations of the float only left a small margin of what was Chapelin.

"It's too far up and I don't have a clear shot." Her eyes were shut tight as if all her power was concentrating within her. The tips of her fingers twitched as she focused within. "Father, your daughter is in trouble again. Please, help me as you have done before." The people around her were confused with this costumed woman who held her hands out so fiercely towards the open. That is, until they began to watch the colors from her hands flow from her wrists. She felt it, she was ready. There was no straight shot of blue but rather an aura just magically appeared around Chapelin's armed hand.

The pistol engulfed in the blue aura scared the scientist. Shrieking from both the spooky aura and the new found pressure around his hand, Chapelin released the weapon. It did not fall to the ground but instead was pressurized. The magic shrunk the weapon to size as splinters of metal fell to the ground as the muzzle was clamped down on itself. It was thoroughly destroyed when the aura left it alone and dropped the once lethal gun. When he looked up from his hand, it was too late. It looked too much like a bull coming after him, except this one was green. No horns? No problem. Shoulder first and down, Chapelin was bumped by the large animal. The impact pushed him clear off the platform of the float in which he had gone airborne. His body flew, falling until he hit the lowest platform of the float. The mutants below ran beside the float until they caught up to him when he fell. The people on the top tier of the float had removed themselves out of fear from not Raphael but for their own safety while Chapelin's gun shut down. They now looked down from the lower tiers, cowering under the overhanging decorations.

Raphael looked down from the edge of the float to view his handiwork. Chapelin was sprawled out on his back. He lay motionless until he tried to lift his head. However, it went back down in agony. He heard Michelangelo say something (probably idiotic since he hobbled a little after getting in the downed scientists' face) as the rest of the gang surrounded him. The turtle smirked.

"I'm surprised those weren't on file." He pointed recalling Venus' freaking awesome magical abilities. When he turned around to gloat, the spin of his footing began to slip off the edge.

"Raph!" With lightening reflexes, the lizard lady was able to wrap her hand around the turtle's wrist. Even in heels was she able to stand upright and dig into the float as she heaved to pull him back up fully onto the platform. The heels of his feet met with the ground again as he was pulled back up into the float. From the pull, it thrusted him forward, pushing him into the pulling lizard. His plastron bumped her chest, pushing her back some. A step back kept her upright as both tried to regain balance. "Would've had a good fall." She laughed lightly, looking up into his Amber eyes.

"Thanks for the save." He breathed, taking a look back to the far ground before returning his focus. "Not just from here though."

"I can say the same to you." On his hands, he could feel the grips on his wrists loosen. The brush of her hand falling down into his tickled as they moved and shifted into the crevices of his fingers, jockeying for position. She smiled sheepishly, her blush apparent. Raphael took a step closer; their joined hands dropping down to touch the tops of their thighs as he pushed himself comfortably against her body.

"Can we tell them now?" He smiled back. Mona withdrew her hands from his. They rose up over his shoulders and crossed her hands around his neck. With the aid of her heels, she needn't to stand on her toes to reach up and kiss the rebel. He took her generously, lifting his arms up to allow his hands to rest on her hips, pulling her closer to him.

When they saw him fall, they knew it was over. No longer a threat, they were able to run up and jump onto the float. The family surrounded him, looking down at him and not-so-really pitying him. Michelangelo bent as forward as he could towards his face.

"He got knocked the Shell OUT!" His head moved quickly like a snake as he requoted the character Smokey from 'Friday' (thanks, Angel). The movements made him lose his balance in which he quickly straightened up after wobbling.

"Beautiful story, is it not?" Someone alongside the float commented. The family was already thrown off by the new voice and the fact that he spoke english. He was not in costume as he walked beside the float with a clipboard in hand. The family were not on guard but stood very confused as the man jotted something down and stopped at the end of the box seats. "The separate kingdoms finally come together to conquer the evil that has befallen upon them. This float is definitely on the top 5 list." He nodded assuredly before going back to the opposite end to judge another. The group stood in silence, staring at one another and ignoring Chapelin's incoherent agony moans.

"What he talkin bout?" Mikey spoke in a deep voice as he threw his thumb back at the now disappeared man.

"Who knows" Donnie shrugged. "but he speaks very eloquent English." They had to agree with that. Donnie took a look up to see how their brother and sister were doing. He wasn't prepared for it.

"Up there." He pointed up high to where they were and they all turned. Their expressions changed dramatically to both shock and smiles as they saw Mona and Raphael together.

"Ey, Raph!" Leonardo cupped his hands around his mouth as he called to them.

"Whoo! Mona baby!" Michelangelo followed. The two separated from one another. They held each other in their arms, laughing at their comments and smiling at their approval.

"Finally!" Venus sighed in relief. Her content smile was followed by the bow of her head and her hands clasped in front of her body.

"What you mean 'finally'?" Donnie quizzed, raising a questioning brow. Venus lifted up her head to answer.

"I saw this coming but I didn't know when." She admitted. Then, her finger pointed to her head. "Emotion sense." Michelangelo hopped towards her. He looked like he wanted to grab her, but he was sure that if he got too excited that he'll probably fall over.

"When am I gonna find me a bae?" He asked. Venus shook her head and pulled him to her side so that she can support him.

"Doesn't quite work that way, Mike."

"Nice one V," Donnie added in. " or should I say you and your dad?" He wanted to be able to give all credit where it was due.

"I was barely assisted on this one. I guess he thinks I could've handled this better than I thought." Leonardo came to the opposite side of her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"You've done good today." He beamed. Venus nodded to him respectively

"And dude was taking my advice." Michelangelo huffed as he "caught" his brother who was **so** against his ideas about romance. He had to use them! Raphael is butt ugly (these are Mikey's thoughts Raph fan-people;) and he got Mona to like him so it's gotta be his tricks! That's all pure-Mikey right there! He pouted but still satisfied about what had happened.

"What advice?" Venus' question brought a quick tension with the two guys on both sides of her.

"Don't worry about it." Leonardo stumbled but the female turtle shrugged the matter off. Instead, Donatello took more interest as he leaned towards Leonardo. The leader's brow formed a straight line as he assured his brother. "Seriously, don't."

"Now, what were we so afraid of?" Raphael asked Mona as they swung back and forth and watched their family approve of them. He was teasing and the lizard lady unwrapped his arms.

"Let's get down and go home, yes?" She suggested. "And take these things off." It will be so nice to get out of public eyes and ridding of her 'bird' costume. Mona was careful in her stilettos to climb down from the highest piece of the float.

"I think I kind of like the bird look on you." He joked, placing a questioning thumb under his chin like he was observing art.

"I'm perfectly fine shoving you off the float."


	25. Interrogation

Ridden with boredom, he used his tongue to make a various array of clicking sounds and patterns. Who knows how long they have let him sit there. It was already a grueling ride from Brazil to the Northern states. Never had he been shackled before and keeping his hands bound together instead of keeping them on a project was uncomfortable and presented a sense of anxiety and claustrophobia. However, he would not allow anyone to see him suffer in such a way. He was too snark and must conduct himself in an indifferent and confident manner. As he kept vocal, he looked for anything that could peek some type of interest in the room. However, this was an interrogation room. All around were dull grey-green walls with minimal color. In the room was a single desk in which he was seated by. A single ankle was shackled to it for it was much heavier than the chair he sat in. A darkened window allowed observation in one-way to see if there were any clues to his demeanor outside the interaction with the policemen. Meanwhile, the rest of the room was a bare 20x20 ft, keeping the interactions in close quarters and avoiding anything that could be used as a weapon by the means of escape of the opposite party.

The door opened. His clicks quieted and he chose not to turn around. They would show themselves soon enough. Instead, he straightened his posture and raised his brow. The man they were going to meet was going to look as dominant as possible. Their boots seldom made a sound, creating quiet and non-obnoxious noise. There were more than one. After the sound of boots entered a pair of what could be heels made it into the scene. Chapelin awaited patiently for them to come into his vision.

"Seth Chapelin." her voice shook him on the inside for it was cold. Chief Vincent finally made herself seen as she made her way to the back of the desk. Following behind her was her assistant Jade. The chief had not yet looked into his eyes for she was too busy reading his files of all the new charges he faced. Jade pulled out her seat so that she can keep her eyes on them. Afterwards, she took it upon herself to sit on the edge of the desk due to the absence of any more chairs. Those heels were killing her anyways. Vincent kept reading while Jade played the intimidating role of staring blankly at Chapelin, trying to seek out some discomfort from him. The man couldn't help it, but she really did shake him on the inside, especially since she was writing something down in that clipboard in her arms. He wasn't allowed to see it, but she did it without looking down at it. Finally, Vincent closed the file and placed it behind Jade. She finally captured his eye as her hands intertwined underneath her chin. "We have been keeping a lot of tabs on you yet you always seemed to disappear before we can fetch you." The man had to snap himself awake to answer. He gave them a meager shrug before answering.

"I get around." He replied slyly. His eyes were closed as he spoke, but he opened them back up to add: "I also see that I'm pretty good since you had to send your pets in for me." Vincent smiled. He was trying to get a reaction from her and discredit the bureau's credibility.

"I believe so," she sighed but wholly agreeing with him. "but I would like to talk about a different subject that you should be very familiar with." Her clamped fist dropped to the desk and she leaned in slightly closer. "What are your ties with Dr. Baxter Stockman?"

"A partner of mine." He replied quickly.

"Your partner, what are his whereabouts?"

"I cannot say."

"And why not?"

"The Shredder took him away." He knew. From communications between the international syndicate, he was informed that his former colleague was indeed dragged away. Was Stockman close to him? Yes. Was he upset when he found out? Yes. However, here he was still working for the Shredder. Matters of this degree are never shared in explicit detail, but Chapelin had to believe that Stockman must have done something incredibly wrong or something against the organization to be dragged away. Heck, it could be an undercover thing that will be good in the long run. This entire time, he just had to trust the Foot with what they choose to do in the states.

"Oroku Saki… where is he?"

"You mean you don't have him?" That was news to him. His reply was explosive and shocked in an almost mocking way towards the efforts of the authorities. Vincent blinked, quite annoyed by it. Chapelin was too busy rethinking and sunk back into his chair after merely jumping out of it. "I've been assured he took Stockman away."

"So, you are implying that he has Stockman?"

"That's what i've been messaged about."

"From whom?"

"Foot Syndicate."

"How many branches are there?" Chapelin began to play with his lips, chewing it and sucking it back in. Vincent repeated more sternly. "How many branches are there?"

"Worldwide." He finally answered. He was really still thinking about the Shredder still being on the loose rather than the current question. For a year and a few months, there was no communication between the Foot syndicate after Oroku Saki went "missing". "We do not interact internationally but we all report to the main base."

"Japan?"

"Wherever the Shredder is." Which is pretty much anywhere now.

"And you have no idea where he is?" Chapelin blew through his lips loosely, the corner of his eye looked off in some other direction towards the blank window. "Answer me and do not lie to me. You're already looking at hard times, don't make it even harder."

"No. I do not know where he is."

"And Karai?"

"Who?" He raised his brow.

"Saki's second-in-command. Adoptive daughter. Or his son, Eric Sacks?"

"I do not know who they are. I didn't know he had children." Vincent sighed and began to scoop the files back into her arms. Jade jumped up from the desk and assisted the woman by pulling out her seat as she stood back up.

"Thank you, Chapelin." She tucked his file underneath her arm. "The ward will escort you back." With that, Vincent was being followed by Jade and exited the premises. Before Jade closed the door behind them, they heard him say:

"What? No handshake?" sarcastically.

The two women stopped in front of the window in which he could not see them but they could. He sat back cooley in his chair and seldom made a movement while playing with his mouth again. Possibly making clicking noises again.

"Jade, you have everything written down?"

"Mm hm." She proved it by showing her work to her. It was Jade's job to write down his responses and reactions while he was being interrogated. As Vincent reviewed it, she and Jade both knew that there was not a lot to go off of to help them solve any related cases at the moment.

"Good. He's a Smart-Alec but I can see he's telling the truth." She remarked as she looked back at him. "Have him ready to be shipped over to Rio Police Department so that they may detain him. They can use him to find more Foot in Brazil."

"Is there a new shift in our primary focus?" The assistant asked as she reached for her phone and placed it on top of her clipboard. She was already making the arrangements.

"We will continue our search for Oroku Saki and the abduction of Stockman. We'll give our turtles a break before sending them back out again."

"Agreed."


	26. Back Home

Today in the lair was very slow. Although it was filled with the people that the family knew (besides Vincent) and sensei, they kept it very mellow. Out of the five people there, only three of them knew something that the other two did not. The three adults were in the kitchen and talking with one another. April and Vern sat at the table as Casey leaned against the countertop with a bag of Doritos that he was definitely stealing from the boys. Splinter was tucked away in his quarters in meditation after he had a good bonsai maintenance session with Angel. The girl, however, decided to relax in the living room with _Bambi 2_ playing on the big screen. Girl couldn't help that she found the OG movie in their movie stash. Let a girl have her fun.

The current scene was of the little baby bunny who went racing to find the father of the young Prince who wanted to prove to him how brave he was. Thumper was always the wingman. The young bunny huffed out of breath as he approached the Great Prince who stared down at him with great awe. As the chicana watched with fervor, she did not detect the surprise. Ever so slowly the door to the secret lair opened up. Coming out of it were the returning heroes from Brazil, bags slung over their shoulder yet just as silent as if they weren't wearing them. Quietly, they executed their plan without hesitation. Slowly, they snuck around their own home with Leonardo leading the way as the rest acted as lookouts for the intended subjects to ambush. They heard the TV playing the movie as they kept on creeping. Donatello was the first to peek into the kitchen while the others stood back to make sure the coast was clear. Seeing the three nearly gave him a heart attack but he was really good at hiding his internal screams. The brightening and direction of Casey's eyes prompted the other two adults to turn around in their chair. They were ecstatic but had to keep quiet. Donatello took a step from the wall to show the others that it was clear. " _Splinter"_ he mouthed to them. April shook her head along with the other two and pointed towards the living room. " _Angel"_ she mouthed before pointing to where Splinter was an mouthed it as well. The techie turtle gave her a thumbs up before proceeding. As he moved, they got to see the rest of them and waved them hello. When the last of them passed, April got up to follow far behind them. Casey began to wrap up the Dorito bag so he can come too. The loud crunching made the girl turn and scowl at him. He shrugged and whispered.

"She's not gonna turn around for that!" But April only shushed him in annoyance. Defeated, he sighed and dropped the bag on the counter as the bag slowly unwound itself.

" _There's this thing! And it's got these eyyyyyes!"_ The little rabbit began to talk quickly to the grown deer. Michelangelo pulled ahead of the group, tiptoeing a little faster and taking the risk but to the group's confusion. " _And! And these claws like 'grrrr'! And it walks around like this."_ As it gave a little dance, Michelangelo stood right over the back of the couch. Angel's hat blocked the turtle's view from seeing her face, which probably aided him in which she couldn't get a glimpse of him from behind her. She was totally oblivious. " _And well-."_

"YOU GOTTA SEE IT!" Michelangelo shouted as he took her by the shoulders and shook her. The girl got off the couch and whipped around with her hands up and legs spread wide in a defensive position while screaming her lungs off. The laughter caught her off guard as she quieted down when she saw her friends who had returned from their trip were all standing behind the couch with the adults strolling in with equally amused expressions.

"My boo!" She lit up before stomping onto the couch and standing on top of the 'cushions'. She scowled at her best friend, staring him down. "Imma tear yo head up!" She threatened. "Right after I love on ya." Again, her expression changed quickly as she lunged for him. Her arms and legs wrapped around him as he chuckled and held her up.

"Just wanted to surprise my girl." He laughed, squeezing her hard.

"I guess that's not me then." April stepped in, cocking her head to the side with her arms crossed like she usually does when questioning others sarcastically. Angel let go when she felt him turn to the woman. He kept her on his hip to explain himself. His other arm brought April in close.

"April, you the bae. Tell your bae, surprise the side chick." He bounced Angel before letting her down. The older woman placed her hand behind his shell.

"I see that." She smiled, playing along.

"Shell-shock!" Donnie called happily. The mutants "awwww"ed in a hyped up monotone before engulfing the two girls in a massive hug that was an experience exclusive to only their mutant friends. Imagine being engulfed in so much love that large, 6 ft. plus reptiles. A one-in-a-million experience.

"Jump in here!" Mona peeked through a small opening between Donnie and Raphael. Her arms beckoned towards Casey who was just standing a few feet away and awkwardly watching them all. The question caught him off guard.

"Nah, I'm good." He put a hand up while facing the floor. "I feel the love over here." Mona rolled her eyes but continued to participate in their love-fest.

"Yeah don't worry, I'm good." Vern validated as he stood next to Casey. He exchanged a quick, cocky yet subtle expression towards him.

"We didn't really want ya anyways." Raphael's comment brushed that whole look off of his face, prompting Casey to keep in his laughter.

"Aye! I love ya'll but you can stop this 'cause ya'll smell like Jungle Boogie, back up!" Angel began to push the two boys that were pressed up against her. They began to back away from her and unleashed their grips on one another. Honestly, it has been all river water they've been bathing in. Not the nastiest but also not the cleanest. Naturally, there was going to be some type of foreign and unpleasant smell coming from all of them. When they moved, so did the smell and Angel couldn't be more happy to smell the incredibly faint sewer smell being masked by the much stronger Pine Sol scent that had been established by the women in their lives.

"Did ya'll get what you needed from that chick ya'll had me translate?"

"Oh yeah we did!" Mikey exclaimed ferociously followed by a light laugh as he pointed towards his red banded brother. "She and Raph were going at it and it was hilarious 'cause she dragged Donnie into it."

"That girl was a bisssssh…" Raphael was going to finish his sentence until he saw the snout of his father descending from his quarters. His eyes were wide and his voice carried on as he leaned forward, waiting for a way to get out of this possible cursing situation out of the ears of his rat master. Suddenly, he straightened himself up and towered over the young turtle. His fist was clenched and up towards his face. "Bishou.. up for bringing it up!" He growled while Michelangelo was shook by this turn of his tone. Nice save.

"For real?" Angel continued, acting oblivious to the current situation. "What was that address she gave you? Secret lair?" Angel leaned in, quieting her voice as she was attempting to extract every single detail. "Government facilities?" Collectively, the group showed their clenched teeth and exchanged glances with one another. There was even a soft hiss emitting from them.

"Dance hall." Leo blurted out. Another good answer. This time, Angel was able to read what was going on since most of their eyes touched the presence of Master Splinter who was taking his sweet time to greet his family. Angel looked over her shoulder quickly before hunching over and whispering.

"Tell me later, boo."

"I'd rather not." Mona crossed her arms over her chest as she spoke deadpan.

"Sensei!" The boys shouted collectively. They met their father a quarter of the way before all six of the mutants engulfed their rat master with their bodies. April came to stand behind Angel with her hands on her shoulders as they smiled warmly at the family affair.

"My children." The humans in the room can hear his soft voice being engulfed in his children's embrace. "It was... quiet when you were gone." The mutants disbanded from him, either smiling or appearing somewhat insulted by his teasing.

"We missed you too, Splinter." Raphael spoke low while nodding his head and keeping his hand on his father's side. The older rat gave a soft nod and acknowledged him with a soft chuckle.

"I have gotten word from Vincent that your mission was successful," His hands dropped in front of him, intertwined. "as you assured me upon returning." Yes, they did tell Splinter that they were returning home, but they did not say when. Hence, this surprise is valid.

"Chapelin was shipped over and is being interrogated by Vincent and her team." Venus explained as she crossed over to sit down on their couch. She really did miss her family but the trip was very much draining. Her legs crossed with one another on the cushions as she closed her eyes and rested her head on her hand while her elbow supported it. Raphael removed his hand from Splinter and crossed it over his chest.

"Shredder and Stockman are still running around but we can't do anything about it right now. She wants us to rest up though since we've been gone for so long."

"I can go for a nice vacation." Mona chimed in, arching her back as her hands pressed it in a stretch. Donatello laughed to himself, shaking his head.

"There's never a vacation." he responded humorously. Leonardo nodded with an equally humored chuckle. "We're still going out on patrol." The lizard lady hunched over slightly and contorted her face. The upper corner of her lip rose while the eye of the same side squinted, followed by an annoyed sigh.

"But we'll be home" Raphael rocked his body, tapping her with his shoulder. "and deal with the criminals who in comparison to Shredder look mediocre." Her head rocked, weighing her options.

"I can deal with that." Still not as fun as total relaxation, but you can't always get what you want.

"You went to Brazil during their Carnival!" April cut in, reverting all eyes on her. She was a lot more expressive and excited than the rest of her tired crowd. "Hello?! How was that?"

"Colorful. Loud." Donatello listed with his fingers.

"Block parties!" Michelangelo shouted in a deep tone as he moved over to sit with Venus on the couch. Keeping anyone else from joining them. He placed his body across the couch while he leaned on his turtle sister. "Annnnd having to fight Chapelin with a gun to Mona and Raph in front of a stadium of thousands." The statement was so casual yet those who were in New York this whole time had a jaw-dropping moment.

"See? You can't miss out on these big details." April defended.

"Report much?" Donnie teased. The woman rolled her head.

"You guys like to leave the fun stuff out a lot." She pouted. Whenever she needed extra details on her stories to use for her day job, she'd have to milk it out of them. April never knew why. Maybe to keep her longer? Donatello placed a hand on his hip.

"It's like this everyday. There's no regular day in our lives." April mouthed 'oh' silently and sassily, in which Donnie humorously returned the favor.

"Venus messed his gun up with her powers." The leader in blue gently placed his hands on both sides of the resting turtle's head to show the people. "She deserves the credit." Venus kept her tired eyes closed but showed them an enthusiastic smile. Then, she lifted her head on her own and opened her eyes to speak.

"Ah, as much as I would accept it, we cannot forget Raphael" She turned her body the other way to point. "was the one who ultimately defeated him in the end." The big brute smiled similarly to Venus', which was endearing since both of theirs were sweet little smiles of their achievements.

"And then what happened?"

"Raph kissed Mona!" Michelangelo belted out. That smile Raphael faded into udder horror. The rest of the family had a little jump in their soul. Mona shifted her shocked gaze to Raphael, who matched her looks. Quickly, Leonardo retaliated by pointing.

"Mona kissed Raph!" he yelled. Another jump, but more subtle this time.

"Wait, what?!" April blinked.

"Holy sh*t!" Casey shouted before aggressively slapping his hand over his mouth. "Sorry about the sh*t." He closed his mouth again after trying to apologize to the sensei. "I'm going to stop saying sh*t." This time his hand slapped his forehead before shuffling in place to keep himself from speaking anymore. Vern, seeing his struggle, stepped within his space and tried to whisper advice to him and seperate them from the rest.

"When you say you're going to stop-." He began before a frustrated Casey Jones cut him off.

"I got it. I'm good."

Master Splinter had yet to speak or show any serious sign of emotion of how he felt about all this. Donatello made it by his father's side. His arms crossed over his body and he leaned over his side to add:

"Turns out they've been doing that for a while." matter-of-factly.

"Sensei?" Mona took a small, creeping step towards him with concern. He did not respond in any sure way. Raphael put his hands up in surrender and stood up as straight as he could.

"Dad, before you-."

"Beautiful, my children." He stated. Both Mona Lisa and Raphael were taken aback by his answer and quite honestly were skeptical about it. Splinter was the master of deception and even his answers for things could be misleading. "I would like to believe that in the possible case that you no longer choose to be together that you will remain on neutral terms?" He questioned. Mona Lisa was the first to shake off that this was not some sort of trickery.

"We are a team. All of us. You can't mess with a formula that's already working." Her smile pulled Raphael out of his shocked state and nodded.

"Despite any differences." He concluded before giving her a reassuring glance.

"I do believe in such bonds" He reached out and took them both by the hand. Pulling them forward, he put Mona's clawed hand into Raphael's large palms. Them, he closed it over hers. "and I gladly accept you both."

"Excuse me!" April pushed herself against Raphael. "Wait, what?!" She repeated. Her soul was still shook, but then she warmly wrapped herself around his arm. "Raphieeee!" April exclaimed while she squeezed the heck out of him. Ah, that name. Mikey called him that sometimes and April caught on. It was always an embarrassment when he heard it, which made him flush.

"Look!" The techie turtle followed by a sound effect that was similar to that heard on _The Three Stooges_. "I think he's blushing!" Donnie pointed.

"Am not!" His voice was shrill while trying to hide his face from them in the most inconspicuous way possible. Coughing also didn't help to get rid of his high pitched voice. Even with everyone basically surrounding and looking at him, the big turtle couldn't escape for Mona and April were on either arm and smiling up at him to see his adorable vulnerability.

"I think he's turning red like his bandana!" He continued teasing. It's not an everyday opportunity you could get at Raphael like this. He was going to take his chance. Raphael released his grip on Mona. Suddenly, Raphael whipped something across his body. Donnie's knees buckled as he saw a quick glimpse of his brother's sai just barely wanting to glaze by his calf. Instead, it chose to stab itself into an opening of a chair's frame. The metallic "schwing!" shook his core as he gulped and turned back around. "Hm... Maybe not." April let go of Raphael and cocked her head at the newly stabbed chair. Best not to tease him in this subject matter, noted.

"That's alright," Angel walked towards the chair. The weapon was well stuck in there in which she had to put her foot on the cushion and pry it off. It came out so quickly that she stumbled back. When she caught herself, she held the sai by the handle and used it as a pointer. It was a lot heavier and bigger in her hand rather than what she would see it in Raphael's hand. "I'm already on top of it with the ship names." She smiled deviously.

"Oh jeez." Raphael groaned. He shook his head within the palm of his hand while the other snatched the Sai from her grasp. The large turtle kept walking past her and towards his bedroom. Angel began to call to him.

"Raphona. Raphalisa."

"We don't need to hear this mess." Donnie waved her off, thus beginning a movement of a disbanded family in all directions. Most went towards the kitchen while Venus got up to go to her own room, thus pushing Michelangelo off of her. The young turtle's torso got dropped on the couch cushions, which surprised him greatly.

"Wait! Ya'll need to help me!" Angel yelled in place as they all moved away from her. Even Vern and Casey escaped from her 'girly' need to name their romantic friends. "Where you goin!?"

"Monaphael." Michelangelo peeked over the couch with the suggestion. He looked like a child, but when did he not? She took it into consideration.

"That's a mouthful." She admitted. "Mophael."

"Raphalisa."

"I just said that!" Does the boy ever listen? Then, the chicana slapped her hand to her forehead. Her eyes were as wide as her mouth. "Duuuude! I'm so dumb!" Her voice was deep. "Ramona!" She exclaimed. As great friends are, their expressions slowly brightened in accordance to the other. They began to quietly squeal and slap eachother's hand in an almost digging motion.

"Yooooo! We got it!" Michelangelo bellowed. "WE GOT IT YALL! IT'S RAMONA! WATCH OUT FOR RAMONA!"


End file.
